Forbidden Love
by iceandfire66
Summary: A year after the events of Kingdom Hearts 2, Aqua is in the realm of darkness, waiting for Sora. But Vanitas finds her instead. Is Aqua falling for Vanitas? Or will his darkness keep them apart? AquaxVanitas COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1: Comfort in the Dark

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 1: Comfort in the Dark**

**Disclaimer: I don't any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise.**

The waves slowly crashed against the dark shore. At the end of the beach was a bright moon, dimly illuminating the water. Aqua stared at the bright object, with millions of questions racing through her mind. When Sora come? Would Ven be alright? What about Terra?

The girl sighed, realizing that she wouldn't know the answers anytime soon. Suddenly, the girl heard footsteps. The hooded man had left earlier to gather his thoughts. Could he be back so soon?

"Hey, is that you?" Aqua called out. She heard a laugh, and looked in shock at the figure who emerged from the darkness. It was Vanitas, her nemesis, the dark side of Ven. His face, as always, was covered by his black helmet.

"Hello there, beautiful" he greeted. Aqua glared at him and drew her Keyblade.

"GET... OUT!" she hissed. He put up his hands in surrender.

"Whoa, whoa! Relax. I'm not here to fight" Vanitas said. Aqua gave a forced laugh.

"As if" she said. Vanitas groaned.

"I'm telling the truth!" Vanitas said. Surprisingly, Aqua saw the helmet melt away. She saw the face of a handsome boy with black hair and yellow eyes. He had a sympathetic expression.

"Would this face lie to you?" Vanitas asked. Aqua sighed and turned away. She didn't know whether or not he was telling the truth.

"It doesn't matter either way" Aqua stated. Vanitas sat down a few feet away from her.

"You miss them, don't you?" he asked. Aqua glared at him.

"What would you know about friendship? All you know is anger and hate!" Aqua yelled. Vanitas merely looked at her.

"Am I being the angry one right now?" he asked. Aqua realized that he was right, and looked down in shame. Her gaze returned to his figure.

"What are you doing here? Really?" Aqua asked. Vanitas lay down on the sand with his arms stretched out.

"I... don't know. I really wish I knew. I survived after the battle, and ended up here. I guess I felt... empty" Vanitas explained.

"And what did you think you'd find here?" Aqua asked. Vanitas smiled at her.

"You" he replied. She looked at him in shock and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't even try to deceive me. You're just a monster made of darkness" Aqua said. Vanitas jumped up and glared at her.

"And what's so bad about that? Why do you fear the darkness? Darkness and evil are NOT the same thing" he declared. The girl was astonished. She never even considered that they may be different.

"Darkness is half of the universe. Is half the universe evil? I hope not... otherwise we're in trouble" Vanitas said. Aqua realized he was right. However, she stared at him angrily again.

"How could you even pretend you're good? Do you remember everything that you've done?!" Aqua asked. The boy sadly raised his eyes, and looked at her apologetically.

"You're right. I've been such a cruel person…I've hurt so many people, caused so much destruction…" Vanitas admitted. He turned to stare at the water. Aqua examined the boy's appearance. She had never seen him without his helmet. It gave her chills, but he looked…attractive. He noticed her stare, and looked at her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You... look a lot like him... even though I last saw him as a little boy" Aqua explained. Vanitas looked at his reflection in the water.

"You mean Sora" he replied. Aqua looked at him in surprise.

"So you do know him" Aqua said. Vanitas nodded, and Aqua suddenly felt strange. For the first time in twelve years, she didn't feel so alone. She lay down next to Vanitas, and he smiled at her.

"You know, I never could admit this while we were battling...but you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met" he said. Aqua blushed. Vanitas began to remember when he first saw her:

* * *

_Two guests silently strolled through the halls of Eraqus's castle. The old man turned to his companion, a young boy with a helmet on._

"_Remember, Vanitas, we cannot be detected. Eraqus must not know of your existence" the old man told him. The boy nodded._

"_As you wish, Master Xehanort" Vanitas replied. The pair arrived at a balcony. Far below, Terra and Aqua were training together. The masked boy's attention was captured by the girl. His helmet disappeared so that he could get a better look. Xehanort looked at him in confusion. Vanitas's amber eyes stared at the girl as she gracefully dodged Terra's attacks and countered with her own._

"_They are dangerous" Master Xehanort reminded him._

"_She's beautiful" Vanitas said. His master chuckled, and Vanitas glared at him._

"_What was that for?" the boy asked. The old man narrowed his eyes._

"_You can't let yourself fall for that girl. Love would only be a weakness" Xehanort stated. Vanitas looked at him in shock._

"_Master, you can't be serious!" Vanitas said._

"_I am completely serious, Vanitas! I forbid you from ever seeing that girl except in combat!" Xehanort scolded. Vanitas sighed. He didn't know why his master forbid him from having such good feelings. He couldn't be nice, he couldn't be caring, all for the sake of having the power of darkness._

"_Whatever" Vanitas muttered. The apprentice pretended to be indifferent, and Xehanort smiled, believing that he was. The two began to walk again._

"_Darkness is all that you need, my apprentice" Xehanort informed him._

"_What's so great about darkness?" Vanitas muttered. Xehanort stopped dead in his tracks and turned to the boy._

"_Need I remind what darkness have given you? The power and abilities you have because of it? The fact that you ARE darkness" Xehanort lectured. Vanitas looked at the floor, and his gaze returned to his master._

"_Can darkness get my anything I want?" Vanitas asked. Xehanort nodded._

"_Oh yes" he replied. Vanitas pointed to Aqua._

"_What about her?" he asked. Xehanort glanced at her and turned away._

"_You don't need that" Xehanort said. Vanitas glared at his master. The two had never been so hostile towards each other before._

"_That? She isn't a thing!" Vanitas said in defiance. Xehanort approached him angrily._

"_Silence yourself! If we're discovered now, everything we've been working for will be ruined!" Xehanort said. Vanitas regretfully summoned a portal of darkness._

"_Then let's just leave" Vanitas said._

"_Wait, Vanitas. Don't you want to see their fighting moves?" Xehanort asked._

"_Stalk them by yourself" Vanitas said with his back turned. He entered the portal and disappeared in a wisp of darkness._

_

* * *

_

Vanitas stopped reminiscing. Aqua stopped looking at the water, and turned to the boy.

"Let me ask you something" Aqua said. Vanitas nodded.

"Of course" he told her. Aqua couldn't believe she was doing this. Throughout her entire life, her master had told her about love and explained what it was. She felt some kind of love for Terra and Ventus, but it was the love one would hold for a sibling. When she visited other worlds, Aqua saw so many people fall in love and be happy together. Now she felt strange, a feeling she never had before.

"Can you love?" Aqua asked. Vanitas smirked.

"Wanna find out?" he asked. Immediately after that, Aqua pressed her mouth against his, catching him off guard. The two embraced each other, and Vanitas returned the kiss.

Light and Darkness. Two parallel forces of power. Together, they formed a balance: love.


	2. Chapter 2: The Truth

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 2: The Truth**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

Aqua woke up dizzily on the beach. She got up and stretched her arms.

"Morning beautiful" a voice said. Aqua was startled, and turned around. She relaxed when she saw Vanitas.

"Oh...thank goodness it's only you. For a minute, I thought you were some monster from the..." Aqua began to say. She stopped herself from saying the next word.

"From the darkness?" Vanitas asked. Aqua nodded.

"I can't say I blame you. Darkness is based off negative emotions. And not all of its inhabitants are good" Vanitas said. Aqua examined her surroundings and realized they were still lying on the beach.

"Did we...sleep together?" Aqua asked. Vanitas smirked.

"Well, we fell asleep next to each other" Vanitas said. Aqua looked at him nervously.

"But did...anything happen?" Aqua asked. The boy shook his head.

"Not that I"m aware of" Vanitas replied. Aqua nodded.

"Alright, good" Aqua said. Vanitas crawled beside her.

"Why, was there something else you wanted to do?" he slyly asked. Aqua shook her head.

"Nope" she said. Vanitas frowned, but soon smiled.

"I only expected as much" the boy said. He stood up beside her. Aqua looked around with a worried expression.

"I wonder if he's alright" Aqua said to herself. Vanitas looked at he strangely.

"Who?" he asked.

"This friend who was with me earlier" Aqua explained. Vanitas shrugged.

"I didn't see him come by" he told the girl. She looked at him in confusion.

"Weren't you asleep?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I don't sleep anymore" Vanitas said. Aqua was even more puzzled.

"Why?" she asked. His expression became solemn.

"Because I always have nightmares" Vanitas said. Aqua looked at the boy with complete pity. He noticed this and smiled at her.

"What can I expect for being made of darkness, right?" he asked.

"I have nightmares too. Even those of pure light have them" Aqua said. Vanitas stroked his chin.

"Then I guess I'm not really alone" he said. He looked at the girl curiously.

"But maybe...now that I've met you...I won't have them all the time" he said. Aqua shrugged.

"Do you want to try?" she asked. He lay down on the sand, and softly shut his eyes. Aqua admired his muscular figure. She couldn't believe that this boy was once her dangerous enemy. This sweet, kind guy was once a warrior of evil. But now, that part of his life is over. Aqua heard footsteps, and turned to see Ansem approach her. He noticed the figure on the ground.

"And who might that be?" he asked.

"His name is Vanitas. He's...a friend" Aqua explained. Ansem nodded.

"I'm only stopping by. I'm going to continue walking along the beach, trying to gather my memories" Ansem said. Aqua nodded.

"See you soon" she said. The cloaked man strolled away. Aqua looked at Vanitas, and wondered what he was dreaming.

* * *

_The sun brightly shone over Destiny Islands. The waves crashed agaisnt the beach, and two figures lay on the beach: a beautiful girl with blue hair, and a handsome boy with dark hair. The girl gazed at the boy._

_"Vanitas...can I trust you?" Aqua asked. He chuckled._

_"Of course Aqua. After all, if you love someone, you can trust them" Vanitas said. Aqua looked away from him._

_"What is it?" he asked. She looked at him._

_"Vanitas...I don't love you..." she began to say. Vanitas stared at her in complete horror._

_"VANITAS!" a voice screamed. He turned to see Master Xehanort._

_"Master Xehanort?! What are you doing here?" Vanitas said in shock._

_"I"m here to set you on the right path. You're wasting valuable time!" the old man said .Suddenly, a beam of light shot through his chest, and Vanitas looked in horror at the figure behind him._

_"No, you can't be here!" Vanitas said in disbelief. Ventus approached him, in his fully armored form._

_"Get away from her, Vanitas" Ven barked._

_"Ven!" Aqua cried out. She ran to the boy and hugged him. Vanitas felt so betrayed._

_"What's going on?!" he yelled. Aqua turned back to him._

_"I'm sorry, Vanitas. I don't love you. I never have. I only love Ven" Aqua explained. Ven nodded._

_"It's time to be erased" Ven darkly said. Vanitas shook his head in refusal._

_"No, please no!" he begged. Ven shot a beam of light through him._

_"AHHH!" he screamed in pain.

* * *

_

Vanitas's eyes shot open, his whole body dripping with sweat.

"Vanitas?! Are you alright?!" Aqua asked in a worried voice. Vanitas calmed down, and resumed normal breathing.

"It didn't work" Vanitas muttered. Aqua stared at him with sorrow, and pondered what his nightmare was about.

* * *

Vanitas stood by the shore, staring out into the water. He went into his fighting stance, and shot a volley of dark firaga at the water. Upon hitting the liquid, smoke slowly rose out of the sea. Aqua noticed this, and approached him. She held his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked with concern. Vanitas glanced at her.

"I'm fine. Just angry" Vanitas said. Aqua looked at him strangely.

"Angry about what?" Aqua asked. He sighed heavily, and turned to the girl. Ever since his nightmare, Vanitas had been questioning Aqua's true values.

"Did you love Ven?" Vanitas asked. Aqua giggled.

"As a little brother" she replied. Vanitas continued to look at her suspiciously.

"And what about Terra?" he asked.

"Only as a brother. We trained together for years" Aqua explained. Vanitas sat down, staring at the sky.

"That's good" Vanitas said. Aqua sat beside him, and examined him.

"Why were you so worried?" Aqua asked. Vanitas swallowed his pride. When he was around her, he didn't need it anyway.

"It's just...distressful" he admitted. Aqua was confused.

"Distressful?" the girl asked. He turned to her.

"Being with you...is something completely new for me. In the past, I've only been with my master for long periods of time. I looked up to him, and thus, I was cruel, destructive, manipulative. Basically, I was pure evil" Vanitas said. He looked at her in the eyes.

"But when I'm with you...I don't feel those dark emotions as much. I have these strong feelings for you...and they make me feel so different. And I truly like the way I feel now" Vanitas explained. Aqua smiled at him. He was so sincere.

"Do you know what they call that feeling?" Aqua asked. Vanitas crossed his shoulders, and smirked.

"I'm guessing it's love" he said. Aqua nodded, but Vanitas began to frown and looked away.

"And that's why I couldn't stand the thought...that you don't love me..." he began to say. The warrior of darkness stared at the heroine of light.

"Do you?" he asked. Aqua smiled. She wasn't afraid anymore. It was time to admit it.

"I've never felt this way before. I never thought that I'd feel this way...but I love you, Vanitas" Aqua declared. Vanitas grinned, and held the girl. He kissed her, and Aqua fully returned it. The two lay down next to each other, and stared at the stars. Vanitas was happier than ever before. He never knew this kind of joy. But he frowned, remembering what Aqua wanted other than him.

"Do you want to find your friends?" Vanitas asked. Aqua looked at him in surprise.

"Yes" she said. A corridor of darkness appeared, and Aqua looked at it in shock.

"Go ahead" Vanitas offered. Aqua turned back to him, and shook her head.

"Terra and Ven can wait. It's been years since I saw them. A few days can't hurt" Aqua explained. Vanitas looked at her in surprise. She was choosing him over her best friends? Aqua stretched her arms out and yawned.

"Excuse you" Vanitas joked. Aqua laughed.

"I feel so tired. I'm going to sleep" she said. Vanitas nodded.

"I'll stay up" he replied. She lay down next to him, and he warmly smiled at her. She shut her eyes, and fell to sleep. To him, she meant everything. He'd give up anything, even Kingdom Hearts, just to be with her. And it seemed she felt the same way. He KNEW she felt the same way. He softly brushed her blue hair.

"I love you Aqua" the boy said.


	3. Chapter 3: Tension

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 3: Tension**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

Vanitas calmly sat on the beach. He glanced at Aqua, examining the girl's beautiful hair.

"Wow…you actually look innocent," a deep voice said. Vanitas jumped at the sound of the voice, and turned around. Not very far from him was a hooded man wearing a black cloak. Vanitas walked towards the figure.

"Why do you seem so…familiar?" Vanitas asked. The man chuckled, and flipped off his hood. Vanitas widened his eyes in surprise. The man had Terra's face, but also had yellow eyes, silver hair and tan skin.

"Master Xehanort…is that you?" the boy asked. The tall man smiled.

"So, you do remember. Yes, it is I, Xehanort!" Xehanort declared. Vanitas crossed his arms.

"It looks like your plan worked," he remarked.

"There were a few complications. I became a Heartless and Nobody, but they found each other here, in the Realm of Darkness. They joined, and thanks to that union, I returned to this form." Vanitas nodded, understanding Xehanort's explanation.

"So why are you here?" Vanitas inquired.

"I was wondering the same thing about you," Xehanort said. "What are you doing with that weakling?" Xehanort asked. Vanitas glared at him.

"She's far stronger than you think! And I'm in love with her!" Vanitas stated. Xehanort began to loudly laugh.

"Shut up!" Vanitas barked. Xehanort calmed himself, but continued to grin.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous that statement is? You're a being of pure darkness. The only emotions you have are hate and greed. You can never love!" Xehanort informed him.

"You're completely wrong! I love Aqua!" Vanitas yelled. He glanced at Aqua for a moment, and saw that she was still asleep. She was clearly a heavy sleeper.

"Vanitas, how could you be in love with this girl? Need I remind you how you've treated her in the past? You fought with her on multiple occasions. You nearly killed her, and even considered possessing her instead of Ventus at one point," Xehanort told him. Vanitas looked at the ground with guilt. His former master was right. The boy looked up at him.

"But that's in the past! It doesn't matter anymore!" Vanitas replied. Xehanort pointed at the girl.

"Oh really? If that's the case, go tell Aqua right now. Tell her how you wanted to use her like a tool. Not that she deserves any better, of course," Xehanort said. Vanitas withdrew his Keyblade. It was red and black, and had two gears on it.

"You're gonna regret those words!" Vanitas declared. Xehanort smirked and took out his own Keyblade. It was a mix of dark and light shades. Vanitas disappeared. Xehanort looked around for the boy, but didn't see him. He reappeared above Xehanort's head, and dived at him, Keyblade first. Xehanort glanced towards the sky just in time, and blocked the attack with his Keyblade. The two pressed their weapons against each other. Xehanort broke the deadlock and swung at Vanitas. The boy dodged it, and struck Xehanort's side with his Keyblade. The man grunted in pain and dashed away. The boy laughed.

"You've lost your edge, master. I don't think you have even half of your original power!" Vanitas mocked. Xehanort glared at him.

"Well that's just fine, because I could beat you with a tenth of that power!" Xehanort screamed. He charged at Vanitas, and rapidly swung his Keyblade. Vanitas blocked every attack, his guard gradually weakening. As Xehanort prepared to finish the combo, Vanitas froze still. Xehanort slashed the Keyblade at the boy, and it went right through him, as if he were made of air.

"What?" Xehanort asked. Suddenly, Xehanort felt something strike his back. He fell to the ground, and stood up to see another Vanitas, the real Vanitas, behind him.

"Did you really fall for that illusion? This is just too easy," Vanitas said with a grin. An infuriated Xehanort stood up.

"How did you get so much more powerful?" Xehanort asked.

"While you've been fooling around in the Realm of Light, I've been training in this realm. Now I'm too powerful for even you to stop" Vanitas bragged.

"Now you'll see my full power!" Xehanort began to scream. An aura of darkness surrounded Xehanort, and his Keyblade disappeared. Behind Xehanort, a black creature with horns appeared. The creature roared loudly. Aqua heard the roar, and slowly opened her eyes. She yawned, and when she turned around, her eyes opened in shock. She saw Vanitas fighting what appeared to be her friend. She walked closer towards the pair to get a better view.

"Terra?" Aqua asked quietly. The creature dived into the ground. Vanitas looked below him, and saw a pool of darkness. He rolled out of the way, and saw the creature emerge from the ground. He ran next to Xehanort, who looked at the boy in confusion. He saw the pool of darkness below him, and rolled out of the way again. Xehanort looked at the ground, and opened his eyes in horror as the creature dove out and hit him instead. Xehanort flew into the air and hit the ground with a thud.

"Terra!" Aqua cried out. She ran to his side. Vanitas realized that she was awake and ran towards her. He stood between her and Xehanort. The boy pointed his Keyblade toward Xehanort.

"That's not Terra, Aqua. Stay out of this!" Vanitas demanded. Aqua stared at him in confusion. She had seen Terra like this once before, and even saved him.

"No, that is him! I saved him when he was like this! That's how I ended up in this realm in the first place!" Aqua explained. Vanitas shook his head.

"You have to trust me, Aqua. That isn't him" Vanitas told her. Xehanort looked at Aqua.

"Aqua…please…help me…" he said with a weak voice. Vanitas glared at him.

"This should help," Vanitas said. He stabbed the man's chest with his Keyblade. Xehanort's eyes widened at the unexpected attack.

"NO!" Aqua screamed. She held the man, and watched his eyes close shut. She watched his body slowly turn into ash. She held the ashes, and tears began flowing from her eyes. She slowly stood up, her back turned towards Vanitas. The boy looked at her sadly.

"Aqua…that wasn't him…" Vanitas began to explain. Suddenly, Aqua summoned her Keyblade. She turned to the boy, with her Keyblade pointed towards him.

"Get out of here! I don't want to see you again! I can't believe I accepted you despite everything that you did! I just have to understand that you're pure evil and that's never going to change!" Aqua screamed.

"That was Xehanort, Aqua! He took control of Terra's body!" Vanitas explained. Aqua looked at the boy in confusion.

"But Terra was in there when I last saw him like that!" Aqua said.

"He probably wasn't in there just now," Vanitas replied. Aqua looked at him curiously, her face still soaked with tears.

"And what if he was?" Aqua asked. Vanitas sighed with uncertainty. He honestly wasn't sure if Terra's heart had been in there as well. It didn't seem like it, but it could have been.

"I don't know. But we couldn't take that risk," Vanitas told her. Aqua backed away from him.

"I can't believe this. You're still a monster!" she said in horror. Vanitas stretched out his hand towards her. He felt so afraid of what could happen.

"Aqua, please don't do this. I love you," Vanitas said. Aqua shook her head. She felt so stupid. Vanitas was once a dangerous enemy, yet she let herself fall for him in a single day. For a Keyblade Master, she had acted more foolishly than an apprentice.

"No, no more lies! I DID love you! I thought we could be together! But now I realize that things can't be that way! I HATE you, Vanitas!" Aqua harshly said. She lay next to the ashes, and sadly cried next to them.

"Aqua?" Vanitas asked. He didn't want her to be so sad.

"Just leave," Aqua said in between her sobs. Vanitas lowered his head, and walked away from the girl. He felt something he never truly felt before – sorrow. He was in complete agony now that she hated him.


	4. Chapter 4: Redemption and Relaxation

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 4: Redemption and Relaxation**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

Vanitas sadly walked along the shore. He had never felt so sorrowful before. He looked at the pitch black sky.

"At least the darkness accepts me," he said to himself.

"It's more welcoming than most would believe," a voice said. Vanitas turned to his left and noticed a hooded man sitting on the rock.

"Who are you?" Vanitas asked. The man chuckled.

"I wish I could answer that with certainty. Most of my memory is gone," the man explained. He sadly looked at the ground.

"It's embarrassing. I can't even remember my own name," Ansem stated with self-pity. Vanitas felt sorry for the stranger.

"Wow…that's horrible," Vanitas said. Ansem turned to him.

"What are you doing here on the beach? Aren't you Aqua's friend?" he asked. Vanitas took a seat next to the man.

"We were more than that…but not now," Vanitas sadly replied. Ansem examined the young boy. He had a striking resemblance to Sora. The scientist couldn't help but wonder what happened between Aqua and Vanitas.

"Really? What happened?" Ansem asked with curiosity.

"My old master, Xehanort, took over my friend's body. He confronted me, and I killed him. Yet she was under the impression that it was her friend. So she cried, and told me to leave," Vanitas explained. He looked at the sky.

"Those amazing blue eyes…were so sad…" Vanitas stated. Ansem felt sorry for the young lad, yet he was distracted by the name the boy mentioned. Xehanort. Why did it seem so familiar? Then, everything began to flow back into Ansem's mind. He remembered who he was and how he arrived in the Realm of Darkness.

"I remember…everything…"Ansem said in shock. Vanitas turned to him in surprise.

"Your memory's back?" Vanitas asked. The man nodded.

"My name's Vanitas. What's yours?" the boy asked.

"Ansem the Wise," the older man answered. The pair looked at the waves slowly crash against the shore. Vanitas wondered if Aqua would forgive him. He remembered an old conversation with his master about the concept of forgiving:

* * *

_Vanitas and Xehanort stood atop a plateau in the Keyblade Graveyard. Vanitas was looking at his master as he lectured._

"_Forgiveness is unnecessary, Vanitas. No matter what crime you commit, there is no need to be forgiven. As followers of darkness, we must not feel guilt," Xehanort explained. Vanitas curiously examined him._

"_What if I murder somebody for no reason?" Vanitas asked. Xehanort chuckled._

"_Then you should be given a medal. We cannot show any mercy to our opponents. Such a thing is unfitting for warriors of darkness" Xehanort replied._

"_Master, is it really necessary to be this cruel?" Vanitas asked. Xehanort glared at him. His apprentice rarely questioned his orders._

"_Why do you continue to doubt me? We follow darkness, and as such, we are destined to rely on manipulation and cruelty. It is in our nature," Xehanort explained._

"_But what if we were to act with compassion?" Vanitas inquired._

"_Vanitas, I can promise you this. The more hatred you display, the more power you will have from darkness," Xehanort assured him. He noticed that the apprentice still had uncertainty._

"_Besides, doesn't it feel empowering to act so cruel?" Xehanort asked him. Vanitas nodded with an evil grin._

"_It does" he admitted. Xehanort smiled, glad that his apprentice was on what he considered to be the right path._

"_But if light is so bad, then why is it needed to create the X-Blade? Why do I have to merge with Ventus?" Vanitas wondered. Xehanort sighed, realizing that it wouldn't be easy to explain._

"_Light isn't necessarily bad. It is simply weaker than darkness. But light and darkness are both needed in the world. That is why we follow the darkness. Our dark presence counteracts the presence of those who follow the light, such as Eraqus," Xehanort informed him. Vanitas nodded in understanding._

"_And his apprentices: Aqua, Ventus, and Terra," Vanitas added. Xehanort chuckled._

"_I'm not so sure about Terra," the old man remarked. Vanitas looked at him in confusion._

"_What are you implying?" Vanitas asked._

"_Terra will soon give into darkness. And once he does that, I will take over his body," Xehanort told him. Vanitas raised his eyebrows in surprise._

"_You're going to possess him?" Vanitas asked._

"_This body is old, Vanitas. I'm a shadow of my former self. Since there's no way to grow younger, I need a new body. Furthermore, this body must be as powerful as my old one was. Which it will be…" Xehanort elaborated._

"_Terra is really that strong?" Vanitas asked. Xehanort nodded._

"_Once he gives into darkness, he will be even stronger than me. But it won't matter once I control his body," Xehanort said._

"_Should we really be possessing people?" Vanitas asked. Xehanort put his hands on the boy's shoulders._

"_Vanitas, believe me…we're doing the worlds a favor. When these plans unfold, Kingdom Hearts will be ours, and we will change the universe for the better. The light will strengthen the darkness, and the darkness will strengthen the light. All our fates will intersect, and the worlds will return to a perfect state: an even balance between darkness and light," Xehanort promised. Vanitas nodded, believing his master. He mischievously grinned._

"_Then I'll be sure to be as cruel as I can be," Vanitas assured him. Xehanort grinned as well._

_

* * *

_

Vanitas ended his flashback and turned to the hooded man. "Do you believe in forgiveness, Ansem?" Vanitas asked. He nodded.

"I truly do. After all, I am in great need of it," Ansem replied. Vanitas looked at the man strangely. How could this kind man have done anything evil?

"What did you do?" Vanitas asked.

"Long ago, I was overthrown by my apprentices. I was trapped in a realm of nothingness, and if it weren't for my writings, I would have ceased to exist," Ansem began to explain. Vanitas wondered what it would be like to no longer exist. It was a strange concept. Ignoring that thought, Vanitas continued to listen to Ansem.

"When I escaped that realm, I sought to have revenge. In trying to have vengeance, I did horrible things to a young boy and his friends, things that changed some of them forever…" Ansem said. He remembered what had happened to Riku: how he had been forced to use the power of Xehanort's Heartless to awaken Sora. He felt guilty for changing that boy into a man of darkness.

"If I ever return to the Realm of Light…I sincerely hope they'll forgive me…" Ansem said.

"I wish Aqua would forgive me," Vanitas sadly stated. Ansem turned to the boy.

"Did you try to talk with her again?" Ansem asked. Vanitas shook his head.

"Give it a try. She's probably calmer by now," Ansem suggested. Vanitas stood up and smiled at the man.

"Thank you, Ansem," he said with gratitude. The boy ran off towards where Aqua was. Ansem's gaze returned to the water.

"I feel that he's made of darkness…yet he's so much like you, Sora…" Ansem muttered.

* * *

Aqua sadly sat on the shore, her face still streaked with tears.

"Terra…were you in there?" Aqua asked. Suddenly, Aqua felt something pierce her back. She fell to the ground, and painfully turned around. The girl widened her eyes in astonishment at the figure she saw. He had a ponytail, an eye-patch, and was holding a gun in each hand.

"That should restrain you" the man said with a smile. She narrowed her eyes at the familiar man.

"What are you doing here?" Aqua asked.

"I don't think we were properly acquainted last time. My name's Braig," Braig said. Aqua started to charge at him, but collapsed on the ground from a sudden lack of energy.

"What…what did you do to me?!" Aqua yelled in confusion.

"Energy draining shards. Very hard to come by. They've basically drained your energy," Braig explained. He noticed the ashes next to her. He stared at them in surprise, and thought that they seemed somehow familiar.

"Is that…Xehanort?" Braig asked.

"It's what's left of Terra," Aqua replied. Braig laughed.

"Oh, you still think that was Terra?!" he asked with amusement. Aqua stared at him with a puzzled expression.

"Xehanort took over Terra's body. Eventually, he got rid of Terra's heart," Braig explained. Aqua looked at the ashes.

"So…Terra wasn't in there?" she asked. Braig shook his head.

"Nope, not a single trace of him was left in there, dude," Braig said. Aqua suddenly regretted everything that she said to Vanitas. He pointed the guns at her.

"And speaking of not leaving a single trace…" he said with a grin. Aqua narrowed her eyes, knowing that she couldn't stop him. Despite that, she summoned her Keyblade, and put it in front of her.

"Do your worst," she said darkly. Braig grinned. Before he could fire a shot, a object suddenly was sticking out of his chest. Aqua realized that it was Vanitas's Keyblade. Braig's smiled disappeared, and his eyes slowly shut. He fell to the ground, and slowly turned into ash. Aqua looked up to see Vanitas retrieve the weapon.

"Sorry, dude," Vanitas said to the remains. He turned to Aqua.

"Aqua…I'm…" Vanitas began to say. Before he could say another word, Aqua wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry for everything that I said, Vanitas. Can you forgive me?" Aqua asked. He smiled warmly.

"Of course," Vanitas replied. He noticed the shards sticking out of the girl's back.

"How much pain are you in?" Vanitas asked with concern. Aqua remembered the shards in her back. She pulled them out and grunted in pain. She cast a cure spell on herself and the wounds healed.

"I'll be alright," Aqua assured him. Vanitas lay with the girl on the beach.

"Do you want to go somewhere more comfortable?" Vanitas asked. Aqua looked at him curiously.

"What?" she asked.

"You know…like a hotel or something…" Vanitas said. She smiled at the thought, but her smile disappeared when she remembered that she was broke.

"But I don't have any munny…" Aqua said. Vanitas took out a bag that was slightly larger than his hand.

"Leave that to me," Vanitas told her with a grin. Aqua smiled in response.

"Okay, then let's go!" Aqua exclaimed. Vanitas summoned a portal of darkness, and the pair entered it.

* * *

The pair ended up in Radiant Garden. Vanitas looked around the area.

"Man…the place has barely changed in twelve years…" he said. The town, despite being destroyed a few years earlier, looked as beautiful as it did years ago.

"What happened to it?" Aqua wondered. Vanitas shrugged and saw a large building. The top of the building read **The Radiant Refuge**.

"Here it is…" Vanitas said. He entered the building with Aqua.

* * *

The pair examined the insides of the hotel. Vanitas approached the man at the counter.

"How may I help you?" the man asked. Aqua went next to Vanitas.

"I'd like a room for the night," Vanitas said.

"Single bed?" the man asked. Vanitas's eyes lit up. He hadn't even considered if Aqua would be comfortable in the same bed with him.

"Uh, Aqua?" Vanitas asked.

"Single bed please," Aqua told the man. Vanitas smiled and returned his gaze to the man at the counter.

"By the way, what's the fanciest room I could get for 5,000 munny?" Vanitas asked.

"Well, the best suite we have is on the tenth floor. It's about a thousand munny for one night," the man told them. Vanitas gave the man the munny needed.

"Alright, here it is," Vanitas said.

"Thank you. Here's the key to your room. Enjoy your stay," the man said while handing Vanitas the key.

* * *

Vanitas and Aqua stood at the door of their room. Vanitas opened the door, and the two entered it. They looked at the interior in awe.

"Woah!" Vanitas said in surprise. The room had marble tiling and a bar with a mahogany finish. The bed was huge and looked incredibly comfortable. Next to the bed was a sofa, and in front of that was a huge LCD television.

"This room is great!" Aqua exclaimed. She jumped on the bed and felt how comfortable it was. Vanitas walked over to the bar, and examined the drinks. Aqua noticed this.

"Are you gonna drink any of that?" Aqua asked. Vanitas shook his head.

"I've never been much of an alcohol guy. I'll stick to soda," Vanitas replied. Aqua nodded.

"Yeah, I feel the same way," Aqua responded. Vanitas lay down next to Aqua, smiling at her. He softly brushed her hair.

"I missed you so much" Vanitas told her.

"I'm so sorry for what I did, Vanitas. You saved me from Braig, and Xehanort as well," Aqua said.

"As long as I'm with you, Aqua, I'll do everything I can to protect you," Vanitas promised. Aqua giggled.

"Who knew a Keyblade master needed protection?" Aqua joked. Vanitas started to kiss her, and she fully returned it. Vanitas opened his eyes for a moment, and noticed the sheet for room service. He broke the kiss.

"Why don't we get something to eat?" Vanitas asked.

"Sure," Aqua said with a nod. Vanitas picked up the sheet and the two viewed it together.

"So…what sounds good?" Vanitas asked. Aqua looked through the list.

"How about the penne with vodka sauce?" Aqua asked. Vanitas nodded.

"Alright…what about the drink?" he asked.

"I'll have water," Aqua said.

"Okay, I'm gonna have root beer," Vanitas said. He picked up the phone and dialed the front desk.

"Hello, we'd like to order room service. Could you send two orders of penne with vodka sauce, a root beer, and a bottled water to room 256?" Vanitas asked.

"Sure thing. It'll take about fifteen minutes," the voice on the phone replied.

"Thank you," Vanitas replied. He turned to Aqua.

"They said it would take about fifteen minutes," Vanitas informed her. Aqua mischievously smiled.

"Then that gives us fifteen minutes to do whatever we want…"Aqua purred. Vanitas smiled in response, and turned on the television. Aqua hung her head in disappointment.

"Not what I had in mind…but whatever..." Aqua said. She curled up next to Vanitas.

* * *

A pair of empty plates with scraps of food were on a stand next to the bed. Vanitas was lying in bed next to Aqua.

"That was delicious," Aqua said. Vanitas nodded in agreement.

"Well, I've had a long day. I think I'm gonna go to sleep," Vanitas said. He turned to her and began to kiss her. Aqua fully returned it, and began to admire his muscular body. She suddenly had an urge to see more of it. She climbed on top of Vanitas, and felt his torso. He broke the kiss and looked at her in surprise.

"What are you…" he began to say. Aqua grinned. She had never been so happy in her life. Vanitas would do anything for her. And she returned that sentiment fully.

"I'm so in love with you Vanitas. I think...I think we should do **it**…" Aqua said. Vanitas looked at her in confusion.

"And what **it** might that be?" Vanitas asked. Aqua sighed and whispered something into his ear. His eyes widened.

"Oh…that **it**…" Vanitas said. Vanitas felt incredibly nervous. He truly thought that Aqua was the most beautiful girl he ever met. But should he really do this? Aqua, on the other hand, was eager to start it.

"Come on, Vanitas. Don't you want to?" Aqua asked. He sighed. He knew he'd regret this later.

"Aqua…no. I don't think we should rush this…" Vanitas said. Aqua looked at him with disappointment.

"But there's nothing wrong with kissing," Vanitas said with a smile. She smiled softly, and started to kiss him. The lover returned it, and the two continued to enjoy being with each other.


	5. Chapter 5: New Allies

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 5: New Allies**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

_Young versions of Aqua and Terra sat before Master Eraqus in the throne room. The master was teaching his apprentices another life lesson._

"_My apprentices, any human being, whether he be a follower of darkness or light, needs companionship. It's what keeps us normal," Eraqus explained. Aqua tilted her head in confusion._

"_Master, what do you mean it keeps us normal?" Aqua asked._

"_Well, Aqua, what I mean by normal is casual behavior. If one lives in isolation from other people, then that person's behavior will become much more extreme. The extent to which it becomes extreme is more noticeable once that person encounters society again," Eraqus replied. Terra and Aqua, still puzzled, exchanged glances. Terra turned to his master again._

"_Could you be more specific?" Terra pleaded. Eraqus nodded._

"_Yes, it can be quite confusing. Suppose a friendly, outgoing man goes into the wilderness. He's lost there for a year, barely surviving. Finally, he escapes. When he returns to society, however, he has become much more reserved and shy," Eraqus elaborated._

"_Could that person return to normal?" Aqua inquired._

"_Yes, but it would take a long time," Eraqus informed them. He noticed the apprentices' worried expressions._

"_Don't worry about it. Even if you become lost in pure darkness, your light will always guide you," Eraqus promised them._

_

* * *

_

Aqua dazily awoke in the hotel bedroom. Vanitas, still asleep, was hugging Aqua's torso. Rather than move, Aqua continued to lie there, her thoughts racing. She was in shock that she tried to get Vanitas to have sex with her last night. Had her isolation in darkness changed her personality that much? More than ever before, Aqua was confused. She used to be so patient, so responsible. But last night she acted like an immature girl.

Now Aqua had a question that she was afraid to answer: does she really love Vanitas? Or is Aqua simply not used to being around boys? After all, the last time she was with Ventus and Terra was over a decade ago.

She slowly moved out of the hug, trying not to wake him. The girl successfully exited the embrace, and stretched her arms. Vanitas, however, had felt her move his arms, and slowly opened his eyes. She noticed that he was awake. He sat up and turned to her.

"Oh, you're awake," Aqua remarked.

"Yeah, morning to you too," Vanitas said, half joking. Aqua smiled.

"Good morning," she told the boy. He leaned in for a kiss, but Aqua leaned away. Noticing her evasion, the boy raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Aqua sighed, trying to think of the words.

"You know…it's kinda funny. When I was little, I used to think that once I became a Keyblade Master, I'd have all the answers. I thought that I'd never make mistakes and always have the right answers." Vanitas continued to look at her with concern.

"Vanitas…do you know what love is?" Aqua inquired. The boy nodded.

"Of course," he replied with a smile.

"Then explain it," Aqua told him. The boy's smile faded away.

"Well…I don't know how to put it into words…but I know how it feels like!" Vanitas assured her. Aqua shook her head.

"But that's just it! I don't think that we really know what it feels like," she began to explain. The boy listened to her intently, wondering if she was right after all.

"Let's look at the situation before we met. I had been wandering in the Realm of Darkness for twelve years. Until recently, I didn't run into a single normal person like you. I had to fight monsters of darkness every now and then, but I was never actually around people," Aqua explained. Vanitas lowered his head.

"Yeah…I was wandering there for a while too," he informed her.

"I think that what we have, what we think is love, is really just a strong friendship. I think because we weren't exposed to normal people for such a long time, we subconsciously wanted to date so that we could feel normal again," Aqua elaborated. Vanitas looked deeply into Aqua's eyes.

"What are you saying, Aqua?" he asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"I think that for now, until we absolutely know what romantic love is, and until we know whether or not we're in love, we should just be friends," Aqua suggested. Vanitas had a sad expression, but slightly smirked.

"Well…that's a nice way to dump somebody," Vanitas joked. Aqua sadly smiled.

"But…maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we truly are in love," Aqua said.

"Well, only time will tell," Vanitas reminded her. Aqua nodded, and the two climbed out of bed, preparing for the day ahead of them.

* * *

The pair of Keyblade warriors walked away from the hotel's entrance. Suddenly, a dozen black creatures appeared in front of them. To Aqua, the creatures appeared to be some type of Unversed. She angrily turned to Vanitas.

"Is this some kind of sick joke, Vanitas? Are you summoning these things?" Aqua asked. Vanitas shook his head.

"No, I've never seen them before," Vanitas replied. Aqua's infuriated expression faded away, and wondered what the monstrosities actually were. Ignoring that thoguht, the two prepared to fight. Eraqus's black Keyblade appeared in Aqua's hand, while Vanitas summoned his own weapon. The two began to slash away at the strange creatures. Every time they defeated a creature, two more seemed to take its place. An immense group of Neoshadows surrounded the two. The boy and girl had their backs against each other, slashing at each Heartless that dashed towards them.

"Hey, Keyblade Master, you have a spell that could help us?" Vanitas asked. After destroying another monster, Aqua held her Keyblade into the air.

"Feel the light!" Aqua declared. The Keyblade blasted hundreds of flares into the air. Soon enough, the bright objects flew into the ground surrounding the two friends. A huge white flash blinded them, and they closed their eyes. A few seconds later, Aqua slowly opened hers, and she noticed that the strange enemies were gone.

"What were those?" Vanitas asked.

"The Heartless," a deep voice replied. Vanitas turned in surprise, and saw a tall man with spiky brown hair. He held a strange looking weapon that looked like not only a sword, but a gun as well. The man widened his eyes when he saw Vanitas. His expression quickly returned to normal, however.

"Those things are created when a heart is drenched with darkness," the figure continued to explain. Aqua approached the man.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Leon. I've been protecting this town for a while, and no foe has ever beaten me," he stated with a bit of arrogance. Vanitas faked a smile.

"Well aren't you modest," Vanitas said. Aqua giggled at the sarcasm, while Leon simply ignored it. She never realized the sense of humor he had when she fought with him. He looked at one of the teens, and then the other.

"So, what are your names?" Leon asked.

"The name's Vanitas," the boy responded with an emotionless face.

"I'm Aqua," the girl replied with a slight smile.

"Aqua, that move you pulled was pretty impressive," Leon remarked. Vanitas looked at the man in confusion.

"Wait, you saw us in that fight?" Vanitas asked.

"Yeah," Leon simply stated. The boy narrowed his eyes.

"Then why didn't you help?!" he asked angrily.

"It didn't look like you needed help," Leon answered. Vanitas knew that Leon was right, but still held a grudge towards him.

"Thank you. It's a spell I learned as a Keyblade apprentice," Aqua said. Leon nodded with understanding.

"Yes, I noticed the Keyblade. Tell me, have you ever met a boy named Sora?" Leon asked. Aqua widened her eyes in surprise.

"You know Sora?!" Aqua asked. Leon nodded.

"Follow me to the other guardians. We'll talk along the way," Leon said.

* * *

The Keyblade wielders followed Leon on a rather narrow path. On both sides, the group was surrounded by huge walls of what appeared to be blue rocky formations.

"I first met Sora in another world. He had just received his Keyblade, and was struggling with its power…" Leon said. As the man was telling his story, Vanitas examined the rocky formations. At the top of a formation, he saw a figure. He looked more closely, and realized that the man had silver hair, a long sword, and what seemed to be a black bird's wing. The mysterious figure looked at Vanitas as well, and vanished in a corridor of darkness. Vanitas ignored what he saw, and focused his attention on Leon.

"About a year later, I met him again, in this world. We fought together in a battle against an army of those creatures you saw," Leon said as he continued to tell his story. Aqua noticed a large brown floor ahead of their path.

"That's the postern up ahead. Inside, you'll meet some very important people in this town," Leon informed the two. The group continued to walk quietly, none of them trying to make conversation. Finally, Leon broke the awkward silence.

"So, are you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Leon asked. Little did Leon know that he made it even more awkward. Aqua and Vanitas immediately blushed, embarrassed to talk about the situation.

"W-w-we're just friends!" Aqua stuttered. Leon slightly grinned.

"Whatever you say," he joked. Vanitas, however, didn't take it as a joke.

"Hey, just drop it pal!" Vanitas yelled. Aqua raised her eyebrows in surprise. She never noticed how angry Vanitas could get. Then again, he WAS made of pure darkness, so it's understandable that he gets angry. Leon turned to the boy.

"Relax, I was kidding," Leon assured him. Finally, the group arrived at a brown door with a strange yellow design on it. Leon opened the door, revealing what seemed to be a library. The group saw three figures waiting inside.

"Leon, did you check on those Heartless? And who are they?" a man with blonde hair and goggles asked.

"I did, Cid. But I didn't have to lift a finger to help," Leon said.

"It would have helped," Vanitas muttered. Aqua narrowed his eyes at him.

"Stop it," Aqua whispered. But Vanitas played dumb, innocently looking at her.

"What, I didn't say anything," Vanitas claimed. Aqua rolled her eyes, and looked back at the others.

"As a matter of fact Cid, these two took out the Heartless on their own. They didn't get a scratch on them," Leon said.

"That's pretty impressive. Could you have handled those monsters on your own, Leon?" a young man with spiky, blonde hair asked.

"Of course, Cloud. Nobody's beaten me," Leon said.

"Except for me," Cloud reminded him. Leon suddenly looked flustered.

"Let's not talk about that," Leon said. Cloud turned to the pair of teens.

"I held my sword at his throat in less than five seconds," Cloud bragged with a small grin. Everyone other than Leon began to laugh. Instead, the odd man out narrowed his eyes.

"Anyway, I was going to ask you guys to join our organization: the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee," Leon explained.

"What does this association do?" Aqua asked.

"Basically we protect the town from those monsters you saw earlier," a girl with short, black hair explained. Suddenly, the girl's perky smile vanished as she ran right in front of Vanitas, examining his face. Vanitas backed away a bit.

"Uh, who are you again?" Vanitas asked nervously.

"The name's Yuffie," the girl replied. She stopped examining his face.

"Does anyone else notice how much he looks like Sora?!" Yuffie asked in shock.

"Yeah, I was about to ask. Why do you have the exact same face and hair shape?" Leon asked. Aqua looked at Vanitas with surprise. She knew that he and Sora looked similar, but didn't realize that they looked as similar as the others described. Then again, Aqua hadn't seen Sora for twelve years. Vanitas scratched his back.

"I…don't know who you're talking about," Vanitas lied. Aqua saw through his fib, remembering that he had mentioned Sora back in the Realm of Darkness. Vanitas regained his composure and looked at the others normally.

"So, how do I sign up?" Vanitas asked. Aqua realized that Vanitas didn't want to talk about how he knew Sora. She resolved to ask in private later on.

"I'll join too," Aqua offered.

"Here you guys go. Just sign your names, and we'll get those cards lamented," Cid said.

"Laminated," Leon said to correct Cid.

"What did I say?" he asked with his accent. The others genuinely laughed at Cid's confusion. The young teens signed their names and handed the cards to Leon.

"Welcome aboard," Leon told them.


	6. Chapter 6: Roommates

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 6: Roommates**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

The girl was lying on the sheets, holding a pillow over her face. Part of her hoped it was a nightmare that would soon end. The rest of her was absolutely terrified. Out of all the rooms in the castle, she just HAD to be in the same one as him. They had stopped dating yesterday, yet now they were basically living together. Aqua let go of the pillow, trying to accept the situation. She glanced over at Vanitas, wondering if he was just as uneasy. The boy was skimming through a newspaper, with no nervousness or uncertainty in his expression.

"Does this feel awkward for you?" Aqua asked him. The boy turned to her, his expression still calm.

"Not really," he replied. "Besides, at least we're in separate beds." To that end, Aqua was grateful. Nevertheless, her mind continued to worry about what could happen. If they started to fall for each other, they could ruin their friendship for the sake of a feeling that might not be love. The Keyblade Master knew that she had feelings for Vanitas. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what those feelings really were.

When she was living in the Land of Departure, Aqua lived with Ventus and Terra, but neither of the boys shared a room with her. She had always slept in her own room, wearing a nightgown. As a matter of fact, Aqua was currently wearing one. She didn't want to wear anything revealing, because that would only increase the awkwardness. The two were supposed to be friends. And if they truly were something more, looks would only deceive them, because real love isn't created by physical attractiveness. Then the question re-entered the girl's mind: did she love Vanitas?

The brunette boy tossed the newspaper aside and stood up.

"I'm gonna take a shower," he told Aqua. Vanitas grabbed a few clothes and stepped into the bathroom next to his bed, quickly shutting the door behind him. Aqua heard the other door open, and saw Leon step inside.

"How's the room?" the man asked. Aqua smiled, trying to hide her fear.

"It's a great room," Aqua said.

"Good to hear," Leon replied. Suddenly, he noticed the uncertainty in Aqua's expression as her smile faded.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Aqua turned her gaze toward him, surprised that he had noticed.

"Well, is there any other room available?" she inquired. The man shook his head.

"There aren't very man bedrooms in this castle, and this is the only one we had left," Leon told her. "Why do you ask?" Aqua timidly glanced at the bathroom door.

"I'm just not comfortable sharing a room with another guy," Aqua explained. Her statement was partially true, because she wasn't comfortable sharing a room with Vanitas, and he was a male.

"I'm sorry, Aqua, but there just aren't any other beds left," Leon stated. "Besides, you and Vanitas are just friends, so how bad could it be?"

As Aqua thought of dozens of ways it could turn out horribly, she softly smiled at Leon, hiding her uneasiness.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Leon," Aqua lied. "Good night."

"Get plenty of sleep," Leon ordered. He walked away, as Aqua continued to think about her predicament.

* * *

Fear. It was an emotion he generally didn't feel. Yet as the water cleansed his body, Vanitas felt so afraid. It didn't make any sense to him. He was always confident and aggressive, never backing down from a challenge. So why was he so scared? The boy searched his thoughts, trying to determine why he felt this way. Then, his yellow eyes shot open, realizing the answer.

"Aqua," he muttered to himself. He felt nervous about sharing a room with her, especially since he was about to wear nothing but boxers and a T-shirt. Vanitas would have worn his bodysuit, but it was being washed.

He had never been close to a female before. In the past, his only companion was his master. Was he worried about sharing a room with a girl? Or, was he afraid of sharing a room with Aqua? There was a huge difference between the two possibilities. If he was nervous about sharing it with Aqua, then that meant he had some sort of attraction to her. But what kind of attraction was it?

Vanitas sighed, unable to truthfully answer any of his questions. Finished with his shower, the water slowly came to a stop. Vanitas began to dry himself off. The boy wondered what Aqua was doing. He imagined her enjoyably resting on her bed. Then, he pictured himself climbing into the bed with her, slowly taking off that navy nightgown…

He immediately stopped his train of thought, horrified at what he was thinking. They agreed to have nothing more than a friendship for the time being. Then again, she was the best-looking girl he had ever met, hotter than any princess of heart he had seen. Was he simply physically attracted to her? No, he realized that it was something more than that.

Finally dried, Vanitas put on a pair of black boxers and a grey T-shirt. Then, he started to brush his teeth, noticing his reflection in the mirror. For Vanitas, it was a rare moment to look at his own face. Throughout his time as an apprentice of Master Xehanort, the boy wore his helmet nearly all the time. As an impartial opinion, Vanitas thought that he was attractive. He had black hair, a nice face, and a muscular body. Yet he was conflicted about his eyes. Traditionally, yellow eyes represented evil. What did Aqua think about his eyes? Did she admire their color? Or were they reminders of all the chaos he had caused with darkness?

Vanitas spat into the sink and rinsed. He cleared his mind of concerns and questions, trying to focus on getting to sleep. The boy grabbed the doorknob, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

* * *

The door swung open, catching Aqua's attention. Upon seeing the boy's muscular figure, her eyes slightly widened. His gaze met with hers, as he stared at her beautiful figure. Those few seconds seemed like hours for the pair. Soon enough, Aqua snapped out of the trance.

"You're wearing boxers?" Aqua asked. Vanitas's face turned a light pink. The situation had officially turned awkward.

"Uh, yeah," the boy replied. "Do you like them?" The minute that phrase left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself. He had made the situation even more awkward. Aqua slightly blushed.

"I-I guess they look nice," she replied. Vanitas lay down on his bed. The two turned away from each other, waiting for their embarrassment to fade away.

Once he had relaxed, Vanitas turned back to Aqua, smiling at her. She rolled over on her other side, noticed his happy expression, and smiled in return.

"Well, at least the awkward part is over," Vanitas joked. Aqua laughed. She always appreciated his sense of humor.

"Yeah, but we still have to sleep with each other," Aqua replied. Her eyes widened, shocked at what she said. "I mean–not with each other, like, in the same bed – but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like that – wait, I don't mean I want that." Aqua shut her mouth and eyes in embarrassment. Vanitas chuckled, glad that he wasn't the only one who was nervous.

"Don't worry, I know what you meant," Vanitas assured her. A small grin appeared on her face. The boy's expression turned serious.

"Do you know how we slept in that hotel last night?" he asked. How couldn't she? She had made a fool of herself by failing to seduce him.

"Yeah, what about it?" Aqua asked. Vanitas smirked at her.

"That's the first time I didn't have a nightmare," he informed her. Aqua raised her eyes in surprise. What did he mean by that? Vanitas rolled over on his back.

"Good night, Aqua," he said. Aqua happily grinned.

"I love you too," she muttered. Vanitas looked at her in confusion.

"What did you say?" he asked. She nervously rubbed her neck.

"I-I said good night to you," Aqua explained. Vanitas nodded, and lay on his back again. Did he really hear something else? Or was his mind trying to deceive him?

Aqua, on the other hand, deeply exhaled as she stared at the ceiling. Did she really mean what she said? Did she truly love Vanitas?

No, it was too early to know if she did. Aqua wanted more time to fully understand her feelings. Emptying her mind of all concerns, Aqua closed her eyes, trying to fall into a peaceful sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: An Old Friend

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 7: An Old Friend**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

The sunrise overlooking Radiant Garden was as bright as the town itself. A ray of light passed through one of the many windows in Ansem's castle and shone on Vanitas's face. The boy dizzily opened his eyes, but then tightly shut them to avoid looking at the bright sun. He turned to his side and noticed that Aqua was still asleep. Vanitas loved how peaceful she looked when she slept. Yet hidden beneath that deceiving exterior was the determined heart of a Keyblade Master. Aqua fluttered open her eyes, her gaze meeting with Vanitas's.

"Morning, sleepy-head," Vanitas said.

"Good morning," Aqua said in return. "How long have you been up?"

"Less than a minute," he replied.

"Could I ask you something?" Aqua inquired.

"Of course," the boy answered.

"Why did you change?" she asked. Vanitas looked at her, chuckling a bit.

"What are you talking about?" he said in confusion. Aqua's expression grew nervous. She felt uneasy about remembering how Vanitas used to be.

"I mean what turned that evil boy into the person I see in front of me," she asked. Vanitas sighed, sorting through his thoughts and memories.

"It'll take a while to explain," he said. "I suggest you get comfortable." Aqua giggled.

"Well, I'm laying on a bed," she remarked. Vanitas laughed as well, realizing how pointless his statement was.

"Yeah, right," he replied. His smile vanished, and his yellow eyes met with Aqua's blue ones. "After you defeated me, when I had taken over Ventus, I was kicked out of his body, partly because he had defeated me in an internal struggle as well. At that point, only one of us could exist in that body, and it ended up being him."

Aqua wondered if she sensed regret in the boy's tone. But how could that make sense? Vanitas's body was much better than Ven's body. Not to mention sexier. She mentally groaned, realizing that she still was attracted to him. Remembering that he was in the middle of a story, Aqua turned her attention back to her friend.

"Just as I did during my creation, I took a physical form. However, although I looked the same, I began having a different view on life. I slowly began to realize that darkness wasn't all powerful. Furthermore, I started to question what my true values and motives should be. For years I had blindly followed my master simply because he had created me. As his apprentice, I became so twisted that I began to enjoy others' pain." Aqua continued to listen intently, and Vanitas looked out the window at the sunrise.

"After reflecting on everything that had happened to me, I understood that I needed to grow closer to the light. My master had always taught me that in order to increase my darkness, I must be surrounded by people filled with darkness. Thus, I believed that being with him, a master who thrived on darkness, my own darkness would grow in power. Following that theory, I believed that in order to increase my light, my positive emotions, I have to be around people filled with light." He turned to Aqua.

"So I resolved to find the one person who was filled with light, who could understand what I've been through. By following your aura of light, I searched for you in the Realm of Darkness." Vanitas stepped closer to Aqua, and brushed her hair.

"Finally, I ran into this pretty girl," he said. Aqua blushed and turned away. Vanitas was surprised at the motion. He sighed, still looking at her back.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unnerve you," he said. The Keyblade Master composed herself, and turned to Vanitas with a smile.

"It's alright," Aqua said. "We all make mistakes." As he stared at her beautiful figure, Vanitas felt almost infatuated with her. He still couldn't believe that they were only friends.

"But sometimes we don't know what those mistakes are," he remarked. Aqua stared at him, wondering what he meant.

"I'm gonna start getting changed," Vanitas said. The boy stepped into the bathroom, leaving Aqua to herself. Aqua didn't deny that she felt something for Vanitas. However, she still hadn't fully sorted out those feelings. Until she absolutely knew she was in love with him, Aqua would only be his friend.

She wondered what Vanitas thought of her. This entire time she had been concerned about only her own feelings. Yet Vanitas was also probably confused, despite the fact that he seemed fine. Aqua wanted to talk it over with him, but she realized it would probably make things more awkward, especially if he didn't return her feelings.

* * *

Fully dressed in their traditional attire, Aqua and Vanitas entered the castle's dining hall. Already sitting at the table were Leon and Yuffie.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie greeted cheerfully.

"Yeah, hi," Leon muttered. Yuffie glared at her reserved friend. Aqua and Vanitas sat down and started to eat dinner. The group heard footsteps coming from another staircase. Aqua looked in shock to see a tall man with black hair. The man noticed her and smiled.

"Aqua!" the man greeted.

"Zack Fair, is that you?" Aqua asked. She ran over to him and the two hugged. Vanitas felt a strange mix of envy and confusion. He stood up, and approached the two.

"How have you been?" he asked. Aqua couldn't help but notice how much he had grown. He was taller and more muscular.

"Pretty good," she replied. "How are you doing?"

"My life's pretty good these days," Zack said. "I've been working with the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee." Zack turned his head left and right, as if he were searching for something.

"Is Terra here?" he asked. Aqua sadly lowered her head.

"No," she replied. "I'm not sure what's happened to him." Realizing he had brought up the wrong topic, Zack lifted up her chin.

"Cheer up," he said. "Terra will be fine."

"He's right," Vanitas said. "Terra isn't easy to defeat. I'm sure he'll turn up eventually." Aqua looked at the teenage boy with surprise. Did Vanitas really think that Terra would be okay? Or was he just trying to comfort her?

"Oh, do you know Terra too?" Zack asked Vanitas. The boy smiled.

"Yes, I know him," he answered. "The name's Vanitas, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Vanitas," Zack said. He glanced at Aqua. "Are you a friend of hers?" he asked. Vanitas and Aqua exchanged glances. Almost frowning, Vanitas turned his attention to Zack.

"Yes, we're friends," Vanitas told him. "Nothing more." Zack raised an eyebrow, wondering what Vanitas was implying. Ignoring the comment, Zack smiled as he put an arm around Aqua. The girl nervously looked at him.

"So, about that date I promised to take you on," he said. Vanitas grinded his teeth, summoning his Keyblade. He wacked Zack's foot with it.

"OW!" Zack yelled. He held his foot and glared at Vanitas.

"Sorry, I was aiming for a bug," the boy said with a toothy grin. Aqua giggled at the stunt, but stopped when Zack looked at her.

"Seriously though, how about tonight?" Zack asked. Aqua blushed and looked at Vanitas. She was conflicted whether she should date Zack or stay true to Vanitas.

"I don't know, Zack," she replied. The man held her hand, catching her attention.

"Trust me," he said. "It'll be fun." Aqua and Vanitas had promised not to date each other. So what was the harm in dating Zack?

"Alright, let's do it," Aqua agreed. Vanitas felt his heart skip a beat. Nevertheless, he tried to hide the disappointment in his expression. Aqua glanced at the boy.

"Is that alright, Vanitas?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, it's fine," he said with complete deceit.

"I'll get you around seven," Zack said.

"Alright," Aqua replied. The trio sat down at the table to eat their breakfast. Vanitas felt unsure of what he should do. He and Aqua had promised to only be friends for the time being. Plus, he never told Aqua the evil things that he once planned to do to her. It was probably better for her to be Zack's girlfriend. Freeing his mind of all concerns, the boy continued to eat his breakfast.

Aqua, on the other hand, was just as uncertain. She was conflicted between her feelings for Vanitas and the prospect of having Zack as her boyfriend. Clinging to her promise with Vanitas, she did her best to ignore any attraction towards him, unless that attraction was actually love.


	8. Chapter 8: Epiphany

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 8: Epiphany**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

Some people were meant to be fighters. If they weren't engaged in some sort of combat, they could easily grow bored. Vanitas was this kind of person. He sat on his bed, gazing out the window with an apathetic expression. The boy turned to Aqua, realizing that she was staring at him. Her eyes were fixated on his clothes.

"What is it?" he asked. Aqua turned her glance to the boy.

"Don't you get tired of wearing that bodysuit?" she inquired. Vanitas smirked in response.

"Well, don't you get tired of wearing that same outfit all the time?" the boy retorted. Aqua narrowed her eyes.

"I've been wandering the Realm of Darkness for years!" Aqua said. "How do you expect me to have another outfit?"

"Yeah, but when I fought you both times, you had that same outfit on!" the boy said.

"So did you!" the girl argued. Vanitas glared at her.

"Well, I guess we need new outfits!" Suddenly, Aqua's expression was no longer annoyed. That suggestion didn't sound too bad.

"Okay, let's go to the mall." Aqua said. Vanitas didn't understand what she meant.

"What's a mall?" he asked. She looked at him in shock.

"You don't know what a mall is?!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, Master Xehanort wasn't the best guy to learn social skills from," Vanitas countered. Aqua didn't have any trouble believing that. "Besides, did your world even have a mall?"

"Actually, it did," Aqua informed him. "It was on the other side of the forest that separated the town from the castle."

"I don't know," Vanitas said. His friend jumped on the bed next to him, playfully pouting.

"Come on, it'll be the first time we've hung out as friends," Aqua said. For a moment, Vanitas started to lose himself in her cerulean eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he was always captivated by her beauty. On countless occasions, Vanitas had to remind himself of their promise. If he tried to become her boyfriend now, it would ruin their friendship and any chance of love. The girl tilted her head slightly, acting seriously again.

"Vanitas?" Aqua asked. Snapping out of it, he sighed.

"Alright, we'll go to the mall," the boy conceited. She immediately smiled, brightening the boy's mood. Whenever he saw a happy grin on her face, the boy would grow more cheerful.

* * *

Underneath a huge skylight, the pair of Keyblade warriors slowly walked through the building. Aqua was glancing at the different windows, looking for something to buy. Vanitas, on the other hand, was examining the other people, particularly the men who were staring at Aqua. It seemed like every guy who passed the girl was completely infatuated with her. Suddenly, a blonde man that was walking by halted in place to look at Aqua.

"How much did that one cost?" the stranger asked. In less than a second, Vanitas, completely enraged, held his Keyblade against the pervert's throat.

"Not nearly as much as it's gonna cost you!" he barked. Aqua marched over towards the pair.

"Vanitas, don't hurt him!" Aqua yelled. He didn't want to make a scene in front of Aqua. Still scowling, the boy's Keyblade vanished, and he turned to Aqua.

"Honestly Aqua, I think you're too-" he started saying. Out of nowhere, Aqua slammed her Keyblade against the pervert's shins. He collapsed to the ground while crying out in pain.

"And the next time you say something like that, you'll be in twice as much pain!" she screamed. Vanitas looked at her in absolute shock. He admired how the girl was determined to stand up for herself, especially because she wasn't afraid to use violence. Once her eyes met with Vanitas's, the anger vanished.

"Sorry about that," Aqua apologized. Vanitas smiled, laughing.

"What's there to be sorry for?" he asked. "I like your darker side."

"I just hate men like that," Aqua explained. "They treat women like objects. To them, our personalities and feelings mean nothing." The boy was surprised to notice a tear fall out of her eye.

"Aqua, are you alright?" the boy asked. Suddenly, she started sobbing. Aqua sat down on a bench, and Vanitas immediately went next to her. It dawned on him that Aqua wasn't emotionally invincible. Although her personality was upbeat and hopeful, she could still be insulted. Her feelings could still be

"It…really hurts," the Keyblade Master said. She turned her flushed face towards him. "Do I look…like a hooker?"

"No, you don't," Vanitas said. "You don't try to pretend to appear beautiful. You already are – on the inside and outside." He softly held her hands. The boy stared at the ground for a few moments, searching for the right words. He raised his head.

"I'm gonna make two promises," Vanitas said. Aqua's sobs were slowly dying out. "First off, the next time someone says something like that, I'll beat him until his eyes are tearing. But more importantly, I'll never let you cry again." Aqua looked at him, her face's normal color returning.

"That's a tough promise to keep," she warned him. Vanitas raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so men don't cry even if they're beaten to a pulp?" he asked. "That's a pretty sexist comment, Aqua." She giggled, shaking her head.

"No, silly," Aqua replied. "I meant the second one." Vanitas nodded.

"It is a tough promise," he agreed. "But I'm not going to break it." At that moment, Aqua began to comprehend how Vanitas truly cared for her. She tightly hugged him.

"Thank you, Vanitas," Aqua told him. Suddenly, he was making gasping noises.

"Augh…can't…breathe…" he said. The girl released him, staring at him in confusion as he pretended to pant. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You were practically strangling me," Vanitas remarked. Aqua crossed her arms, not believing him.

"Oh shut up, you goofball," she ordered. He gaped in shock.

"First you strangle me, now you make fun of me!" he yelled. He sniffed and wiped his eye. "I think I'm the one who's gonna start crying." Aqua started laughing, and slapped his shoulder to stop the charade, which caused him to start chuckling as well. Vanitas loved to hear her laugh.

When that thought entered his head, his chuckle ceased. The boy had finally realized how he felt about Aqua. He thought she was beautiful, humorous, happy and kind. But there was more to it. He enjoyed hearing her laugh and seeing her smile. Also, whenever he looked into her eyes, he felt safe, not to mention optimistic. Those cerulean irises washed all his fear away. Whenever they were together, he was in a much better mood. Furthermore, regardless of any situation he was in, Vanitas was constantly thinking about her.

Vanitas finally knew the truth: he loved Aqua. Did she feel the same way? He glanced at her, noticing that she was still laughing. If he told her now, everything could become awkward, and she'd feel uncomfortable on her date with Zack. Although he didn't like Zack, Aqua deserved a fair chance with him. Her laugh finally died out, and she gazed into his yellow eyes.

The moment was ruined by a loud screech, followed by softer screams of panic. The two ran towards the source of the noise, seeing a huge Heartless. It had a long, spiked tail, four clawed legs, and a mouth with sharp teeth. It narrowed its yellow eyes at the two.

"Maybe it's friendly," Vanitas offered. The creature snarled, and blew a trail of fire at them. They dodged the attack, and Vanitas turned to Aqua.

"Do you have a spell that could take this thing out?" he asked.

"Well, there is one spell that would work," Aqua responded. "But I need time to focus my energy." The creature threw its tail at the two, and they evaded it once again. Vanitas jumped at its head, and slashed its snout. He disappeared, and slashed its head again. Vanitas dug his Keyblade into the monster, and ran down its back while taking the weapon with him. It roared in pain, trying to throw Vanitas off.

Aqua, on the other hand, was aiming her Keyblade at the monster. Finally focused, Aqua narrowed her eyes, and her Keyblade began to glow.

"Out of the way, Vanitas!" she yelled. Vanitas obeyed, and dashed away from the monster. The Keyblade released a huge, white, glowing sphere. It slammed into the monster, making it shriek. The sphere slowly went through, slowly making it evaporate into wisps of darkness. Soon enough, the beast was completely eradicated.

Vanitas and Aqua grinned with a sense of accomplishment. Aqua turned to Vanitas.

"We make a great team," Aqua said.

"Yeah," Vanitas answered. "We make a great pair." The girl didn't understand the pair that he actually was referring to. Suddenly, a man in a suit approached the two.

"No need to thank us, sir," Vanitas assured him. "Just your everyday Radiant Garden Restoration Committ-"

"I'll say there's no need to thank you!" the man barked. The two looked at him in puzzlement. "Your little attack destroyed an entire clothing outlet!" Aqua and Vanitas angled their heads to noticed a huge hole in the wall of a store. Past it, another hole was in the mall's outside wall, revealing the parking lot. Aqua guiltily rubbed her neck.

"I guess I spent too much time charging that attack," Aqua admitted. The man's expression fumed.

"Get out of my mall!" he screamed. Vanitas grinded his teeth.

"Oh come on!" the boy complained. "We saved your mall from that monster! It could have been worse!"

"It was still bad anyway!" the owner yelled. "Now get out!" Vanitas put his Keyblade to the man's neck, quickly silencing him. The man looked very afraid of the weapon.

"Listen now, and listen well," Vanitas demanded. Aqua saw the rage in his eyes. "If it weren't for us, this mall would be destroyed. When we want to come back, we'll be back. However, since you're such an infuriating man, I don't feel like spending a cent on your precious stores' products. So this time, we'll leave." He proceeded to walk out. Aqua followed him, completely agreeing with what he had said.


	9. Chapter 9: The OneWinged Angel

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 9: The One-Winged Angel**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

Vanitas was lying down on his bed, still disappointed about the mall incident. Although he felt neutral before going there, the boy really wanted to spend more time having with Aqua. Now she was changing in the bathroom, preparing for her date with Zack.

He turned his head to the door. "I can't believe how pointless that mall visit was."

"Yeah, but the important thing is that we had fun together," Aqua's voice replied.

Vanitas smiled to himself. "I don't think it's fun to fight a Heartless and get lectured by an angry fool."

As the door opened, Vanitas's jaw practically dropped. Her figure was clothed in a black dress, ending fairly high above her knees. The eyelashes were coated with eyeliner, while pink lipstick tinted her lips. Remembering whom she'd probably be kissing with that lipstick, his stomach dropped. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't stopped her advance at the hotel. If that had happened, she wouldn't have seen Zack again and he'd no longer be a virgin.

His mind seemed too focused on that aspect: sex. Though, as his master had said, most men wanted intercourse in a relationship. But why did he constantly think of that concept? Was his darkness increasing his passion for women? Passion was sometimes considered a negative emotion, thus making it an emotion of darkness like anger or envy. Ultimately though, it didn't matter. His love for her outweighed the lust.

With a smile, Aqua brushed her hair back. "How do I look?"

The boy was still captivated by her appearance. "So sexy."

Her eyes widened, clearly taken aback by the comment. Regretting his comment, the boy felt like hiding under a rock.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to imply anything," Vanitas nervously assured her. If Aqua knew he wanted intercourse, any chance of a relationship for the two would be ruined. The girl forced a chuckle.

"Of course," she replied. Really though, Aqua didn't care too much about the statement's awkwardness. What mattered to her was Vanitas thought she was sexy. Yet she couldn't tell if he felt any emotional attraction, which mattered much more to her than mere lust.

After a quick knock, the door swung open, revealing Zack dressed in a suit. He gazed at Aqua's outfit.

"Wow, Aqua…you look amazing," Zack told her.

As a slight tint of pink formed on her cheeks, Vanitas clenched his fists. Whether it was out of jealousy or instinct, the young Keyblade wielder couldn't stand that man. As his eyes seethed in rage, Zack looked at him in confusion.

"Hey, Vanitas, you alright?" he asked.

Hiding his anger, Vanitas smiled and nodded. "Things couldn't be better."

Unknown to the dating pair, the comment wasn't meant to be positive. To Vanitas, the situation couldn't be any worse. He loved Aqua, yet he couldn't risk telling her. Meanwhile, her old friend Zack was trying to hit on her. What was the answer to this mess?

"I'll see you tonight Vanitas," Aqua said as she exited the door.

At the sound of her voice, Vanitas snapped his head towards them. "Yeah, have fun you two." Even he was surprised at how genuine that sounded.

Zack quickly followed her, waving goodbye to the dark warrior.

* * *

Clouds began to cover the sky above the world's only town. A lone silver-haired man stood atop a cliff, soon joined by countless Heartless. The harsh wind bent his black wing. He turned to the Heartless, no emotion in his expression.

"I was disappointed with how the others did yesterday," he said. "It wasn't entirely their fault, however. After all, I hadn't expected to see more Keyblade wielders here…not since that last one."

The mindless Heartless continued staring at him.

"Considering that there are over a thousand of you this time, I expect this town to be destroyed by dusk," he declared. Somehow understanding his intent, the Heartless dived off the cliff, racing into the town.

As Leon was casually walking, he saw a Shadow dive in front of him. With a quick rotation of his blade, the monster was destroyed. He dashed over to Cloud and Yuffie, who were fighting the monsters by a large gateway that served as the town's entrance

"Quickly, we have to contain the Heartless here!" he barked. "If they spread throughout the town, it'll be destroyed in no time."

"I'll tell the others," Yuffie promised. "We need as many members as we can get for this."

Leon ducked his head, barely avoiding a charging Dark Ball. It turned around, but only to see Leon slice it in half.

"Of course we're stuck doing this," Cloud remarked.

Leon laughed. "Hey, who said it was easy to be part of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee?"

Just as he finished the sentence, a group of Shadows dashed at him. The fighter easily destroyed them.

"Nobody did," Cloud replied. In a single attack, he reduced five Heartless to dark smoke.

"Speaking of which, we need a better name for our organization," Cloud offered. "Those Heartless almost stopped you mid-sentence.

"How about the Radiant Warriors?" Leon said.

Cloud smirked. "I said a better name, Leon."

"The Garden Keepers?" the other suggested.

"Leave the name-making to me, pal," Cloud said

From the side, an Invisible swung his blade at Leon, but Cloud thrust his own forward, saving the off-guard warrior. The blonde recovered from the block, and stabbed the Invisible, making it fade away.

"While you're at it, leave the fighting to me also," he added with a grin.

* * *

Vanitas slowly strolled through the castle's dark hallways. He had always been taught by Xehanort that with hard work, anything could be changed. Yet he couldn't change his train of thought. He was still thinking about Aqua, wondering how doing on her date. More specifically, he was wondering **what** she was doing. Vanitas was being affected by more than just his jealousy. Really, he didn't know anything about Zack. Did Aqua know him well enough to trust him? What if he tried to take advantage of her?

His fists clenched at that last thought. If Zack did anything to hurt Aqua, Vanitas's actions would make him wish he were dead. All he needed was a good reason to keep that man away from Aqua.

Yuffie whipped around the corner, knocking Vanitas over. He rubbed his head, and angrily looked at her.

"Come on, what are you doing on the floor?" she asked. "The Heartless are invading the town, and the others need all the help they can get."

That was a good enough reason for Vanitas.

"Oh, I'll go get Aqua and Zack," said the boy with a mischievous grin.

"No, we don't want to ruin their date," the girl replied.

His jaw dropped. "But-but you just said-"

"What, you don't think the we're strong enough to handle them on our own?" she inquired.

Vanitas chuckled. "I guess I don't want to lose my pride. Alright, I'll go straight there."

After summoning his Keyblade, Vanitas began running towards the castle's exit

"Vanitas," Yuffie asked.

Turning towards her, he stopped. "What is it?"

"You love Aqua, don't you?" Yuffie asked.

He gaped at her in shock. "What! Are you crazy? We're just friends!"

"Drop the act," she demanded. "I can tell you're lying by your expression."

He relaxed with a nod. "Okay, fine. I love Aqua. But how did you know?"

"I see the way you look at her," Yuffie explained.

"Oh," Vanitas replied nervously. "I didn't realize it was that obvious."

Yuffie put a hand on his shoulder. "But she looks at you the same way."

Vanitas was completely shocked. Could Yuffie be right? Did Aqua love him? Then again, how much could one tell from a facial expression? Yuffie may have just been lucky in guessing that he liked Aqua. He shoved away those thoughts, knowing they would only distract him. The town was in trouble. He summoned his Keyblade, rapidly sprinting down the hallway.

* * *

Vibrant paintings decorated the walls of "Elegant Radiance". Towards the back of the restaurant, a pianist was enhancing the ambience with his soothing music.

"This place is incredible, Zack," Aqua remarked with awe.

He mimicked her smile. "I think it's the best restaurant in Radiant Garden. I've been coming here ever since it opened a few months ago."

"Speaking of which, how long have you been here?" Aqua asked. "Did you leave Olympus Coliseum recently?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I left that world years ago."

Aqua felt confused. Zack had seemed so happy at the coliseum. The warrior always had chances to fight opponents there, and that seemed to be what he liked most.

"Why'd you leave, Zack?" the girl asked.

"Ever since I was a young boy, there was a hero I looked up to," he said. "I always wanted to be like him. One day, he showed up at the coliseum, offering me a chance to train with him. I was filled with excitement, and refused to miss such an opportunity. So I left with him, and he made me his apprentice for a few years. But one morning, he just vanished."

Zack looked out the window, examining the peaceful town. "After looking throughout other worlds, I started searching for him here, but stopped my quest when I learned what he'd been doing during his absence. Cloud and the others told me about the cruel crimes he committed with the power of darkness, and I felt like a fool for ever looking up to him."

He focused his attention on Aqua again. "So, I decided to stay here, hoping that he would show up again. If I confront him and he refuses to turn away from his cruel path, I'll be forced to destroy him."

"Do you think that you can do it?" Aqua asked.

"Well, he's extremely powerful, so my skills might not be on par with his," Zack admitted.

"That's not what I meant," she said. "Can you kill your own master?"

"He's not my master anymore," Zack replied. "Sometimes, killing is a necessity. If I don't end his existence, more people will suffer."

"What's he been doing anyway," she wondered.

"He's flooding people's hearts with darkness, turning them into his own Heartless minions," he explained. "We've been having more Heartless attacks recently, so Cloud thinks that my old mentor is behind them."

Aqua didn't expect to be so surprised. After all, Xehanort had once been a warrior of light and fell to darkness, hadn't he? Master Eraqus claimed that his friend once upheld the light. Yet from what she had seen, Xehanort was a monster of pure darkness. After meeting Vanitas though, she had learned that darkness wasn't necessarily evil.

Vanitas. He seemed to always linger in her thoughts. When they used to fight, Aqua never realized how many good qualities he had. The boy was shockingly caring and funny. Aside from his personality, he did have great abs to compliment a great body…

She mentally slapped herself. How could she be thinking about Vanitas while she was on a date with Zack? Luckily, it seemed like he hadn't said anything else about his mysterious former master. Speaking of which, who was this person anyway?

"Zack, what's your master's name?" Aqua asked.

He kept staring at the menu, which made Aqua silently question if he'd even heard what she said.

"Sephiroth," he hissed.

The name even sounded evil. Trying to focus on dinner, Aqua tried to pick out something from the menu.

* * *

The boy felt like a complete idiot. Since he forgot to ask Yuffie where the Heartless were, Vanitas had been racing all over the town in an attempt to find them. Suddenly, he spotted Cloud and Leon battling some by the town gate. Running past them, he made his way through dozens of Heartless in a barrage of Keyblade strikes. He looked in surprise to see hundreds of the creatures marching towards the town, including gargantuan ones he had never seen before.

"How many are there?" Vanitas rhetorically asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Cloud replied.

A Behemoth headed the army, charging at Vanitas. He jumped on its back, impaling the Keyblade into its head multiple times. The beast roared in pain, and suddenly jutted its back out, knocking Vanitas off. The boy landed on his feet, aiming the Keyblade at the beast. The blade released a dark firaga attack, which blasted through the Behemoth's head. Finally dead, it faded into wisps of darkness. A nearby Shadow witnessed this, and began to run from Vanitas.

"Where do you think you're going?" Vanitas called out. He chased after the creature, following it for nearly a mile. The Keyblade warrior saw it run to a man standing at the edge of a cliff. The silver-haired stranger looked at it, and swiftly stabbed it with his sword.

"You pathetic Heartless," he said. "I refuse to have cowards under my command. How dare you retreat from the battle!"

The man looked at Vanitas, his eyes widening for a split second.

"So you've returned, young warrior," the man said.

He raised his weapon, ready to battle. "My strength has doubled since we last fought."

The threatening man lowered his weapon, noticing Vanitas's puzzled expression

"You've never met me before, have you?" he asked. Vanitas shook his head.

"I see," the stranger said. "In that case, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Sephiroth. What's yours?"

"Vanitas," the boy answered.

"Well then, Vanitas," Sephiroth said.

He raised the long sword. "Since the formalities are out of the way, I think it's time I take your darkness."

"What?" Vanitas yelled.

The man's expression stayed neutral. "I've been watching you for quite some time, sensing the darkness inside of you. Now, I will finally have the chance to combine it with my own."

Vanitas took his fighting stance, laughing. "I'm not gonna lose my power to a punk like you."

The two dashed at each other, clashing their blades. Vanitas avoided one of the attacks, and quickly swung his Keyblade. Sephiroth jumped into the air, only to guard against the child's second onslaught. The Keyblade bearer began an extensive combo, slashing Sephiroth with everything he had. Yet his opponent blocked every attack, kicking Vanitas away.

Sephiroth aimed his sword directly at the boy. "That's enough."

He charged at Vanitas, seeming to swing only once. Once he was past the boy, however, Vanitas began to feel ten delayed strikes attack him, barely blocking them all.

Sephiroth held out his hand, forming a halo with it.

"Heartless…" he began to say. Vanitas ignored the motion, charging at him.

"Angel!" the man exclaimed. At that moment, a huge explosion of darkness knocked Vanitas to the ground, burning off most of the bodysuit's skirt.

Vanitas fell to one knee, and saw Sephiroth fly into the sky. Huge meteors began to hurl at the boy, but he managed to outrun them. His legs tired out as the attack continued, and one meteor landed to close, creating a shockwave that knocked him over.

Struggling, Vanitas stood up, seeing no sign of Sephiroth. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him, and turned in time to block an attack by Sephiroth. The two pressed their swords together, appearing to be evenly matched. Soon, however, Vanitas began losing his grip. The Keyblade was slowly moving away. In less than a second, Vanitas's weapon was knocked away. He looked up in horror to see Sephiroth slash through his head.

Strangely, the slash had no effect. Vanitas's body was completely still, as if he were frozen in time. Suddenly, Sephiroth saw the Keyblade on the ground and Vanitas disappear. Before he could even react, Sephiroth felt a Keyblade stab his back, cutting through his heart.

The man fell to the ground, internally bleeding. Vanitas arrogantly walked in front of him.

"The old hallucination trick," the boy stated. "It always works."

He saw Sephiroth slowly fade into darkness, an angry expression on the loser's face. As Vanitas began to walk away, he felt something pierce through his chest. Looking at his torso, he saw Sephiroth's sword sticking out of it. Trying to turn around, he felt his energy fade away and collapsed. Vanitas lifted his head to see Sephiroth fade into oblivion with a smile.

Weak and dying, Vanitas raised his hand, summoning a small unversed. If he was going to be destroyed, there was only one person he wanted to see first. She was also probably the only one who could heal him.

"Go…find Aqua…bring her here," he commanded.

The creature swiftly ran away. Vanitas tried to cast a cure spell, but he simply didn't have enough strength. He looked at his chest, happy that the attack hadn't gone through his heart. However, there was blood coming out, and his arteries could be damaged. If that were the case, he'd probably die before Aqua arrived.

Unsure of whether he was approaching death or unconsciousness, Vanitas closed his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10: Together Again

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 10: Together Again**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

The rain smashed against the paved streets. Aqua couldn't remember the last time it had rained so hard. It wasn't bothering her, however, since she and Zack had an umbrella. Even if she had to walk in it though, the girl wouldn't mind. For one reason or another, the rain never seemed to bother her. Most people hated the rain, but there wasn't anything bad about it. It was just a part of weather, like the sun, only most people viewed it as a bad thing. Just like how some people would view darkness. Just like how some people would view Vanitas.

If Zack weren't standing next to her, Aqua would just scream in frustration. No matter how hard she tried, the boy was ALWAYS on her mind! Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Could they really be in love?

No. She wouldn't say it. She had to resist. How could they possibly know that already? Just yesterday they promised they'd spend time thinking. Two days were hardly enough time to figure out if she loved him. It couldn't be that simple, right?

Sometimes she tried to shove away her feelings. She'd tell herself that Vanitas was too short or that he wasn't the same age as her. But really, she didn't care a bit about those things.

"Well, here we are," Zack announced.

Aqua looked up to see they had arrived at the entrance to their castle headquarters.

The girl smiled at Zack. "Thanks for everything, Zack. I had a great time."

"I did too, Aqua," he replied.

Slowly, Zack was leaning towards her. Aqua began to panic. She knew he was going for a kiss, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it.

Sadly, the girl stopped him with her hand. "I can't."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong?"

The time had finally come. Aqua had to admit the truth…to herself and to Zack. "You're a wonderful guy Zack, someone who any girl would lucky just to meet. But…for one reason or another…I don't want to be with you. I have feelings for someone else."

Zack nodded, his arms now crossed as the stood under the roof covering the entrance. "It's Vanitas, isn't it?"

Aqua gaped in surprise. "WHAT? How did you know?"

He laughed at her reaction. "You two are always staring at each other. With those goo-goo eye gazes, I would have thought you were dating if he didn't tell me otherwise."

The girl blushed. "It was that easy to tell, huh?"

Zack smiled. "It's alright. People can't help it when they're in love."

She shook her head. "But I don't know if we're in love! I don't know what love is still. That's why we're not dating."

He tilted his head. "You promised not to date…because you can't tell what love is?"

The girl nodded. "That's right."

"Aqua, people don't usually date when they KNOW they're in love," Zack said. "They date to find out if they're in love. To spend time together and realize their true feelings for each other."

Staring in shock, Aqua couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everything he said made sense. Maybe she was approaching this situation with Vanitas the wrong way. Though she still wasn't sure how to figure out if she loved him.

"I still don't know if I love him though," Aqua admitted.

Zack rubbed his chin. "I always thought that love meant completely caring about someone. That someone means so much to you, you'd do anything to help them. I think it means caring about someone as much as you care about yourself…or maybe even more. Being in love isn't just about complete devotion, however. It also means you're always happy when you're around someone."

Everything clicked. That perfectly summed up how she felt about Vanitas. Aqua smiled, holding a hand over her heart. "I finally understand the truth."

The girl frowned. "But there's something you should know. Vanitas is a being of darkness. In fact, he's made of PURE darkness."

He simply shrugged. "Who cares? As long as he's not hurting people, I don't care if he uses darkness."

"I don't care either," Aqua said. "But I'm afraid of what the others might think if they find out. My master once explained to me how most people viewed darkness…"

* * *

_As they often were, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus were gathered around Master Eraqus._

"_If you ever travel to another world, my apprentices, you'll find that most people view darkness the same way I do," Eraqus told them. "They will see it as an evil power, as something that could completely consume you. And they should fear it, because that's all true."_

_Aqua, always curious, raised her hand. Eraqus smiled. "Yes, Aqua?"_

"_Master, why is the darkness so evil?" Aqua asked._

"_Because it has the potential to destroy our worlds," he said. "If left unchecked, the entire universe could be destroyed."_

"_But doesn't light have the same potential?" she inquired. "You yourself have always said that light and darkness are equal in power, but totally opposite forces."_

_He crossed his arms, respecting his pupil's logic. "Fair enough, Aqua. But the emotions that fuel light would never lead somebody to destroy the universe. Those who use light are compassionate and caring people."_

_Aqua narrowed her eyes. "And what about the darkness?"_

"_Darkness is fueled by anger and hatred," he explained. "Those who use darkness are often envious or cruel people."_

_Aqua still seemed unsure. "I was reading a book in the library. It spoke of how someone could control themselves and use only the power of darkness."_

_The man raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did it mention how a person could do this?"_

_She nodded. "According to the book, someone could fight to protect another person and still use his darkness. It even went on to say that darkness wasn't only fueled by negative emotions. With enough willpower, someone could use darkness and still be a good person."_

_Eraqus shook his head. "I've never met a user of darkness who could do that. Do you know who wrote this book, Aqua?"_

"_I think his name was Lurec," said the girl._

_Strangely, her master began to laugh._

"_Lurec was a soldier of the forces of darkness in the Keyblade War," he told her. "Ironically enough, this same man was consumed by darkness and became one of the most despised Keyblade Masters in history."_

"_So…he was wrong?" Aqua asked._

_The man sighed. "I know you try to find the good in everyone, Aqua, but try to understand. There are some men who are purely evil…people who couldn't be good and wouldn't WANT to be good. Those who are made of only darkness could never show any positive emotion."_

_Aqua stared at the ground, and looked up at her master. "What about love?"_

_The question caught Eraqus off guard. "Love? Well certainly not love! A person of pure darkness could NEVER feel love. Such a concept is…is forbidden. Not by moral standards, but by the laws of nature. Abominations of darkness would never be able to love."_

"_In his book, Lurec said he fell in love with someone," Aqua claimed._

_The man nodded. "Yes, and later on he brutally killed her."_

_The girl's eyes widened in shock, realizing how wrong the author was. She nodded. "I understand now, Master. Thank you."_

_Eraqus put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not saying love exists, however. Those in the light have always fell in love."_

_The girl smiled at him, completely believing all that he had said._

_

* * *

_

Zack stared at the girl, understanding where she was coming from. "No wonder you're worried about the darkness. Your master sounds like he was paranoid about it."

"I always thought he was right," Aqua admitted. "Every villain I met used darkness, and they were all hateful people. But then…I met Vanitas. At first he was just as evil…but now he's different. He's changed somehow, and even though he still uses darkness, he's managed to be a nice person."

Zack grinned. "Sounds like that guy's theory was right after all."

Aqua smiled as well. "That's what I think."

The man's expression turned serious as he saw something in the distance. It looked like a Heartless, only it was blue and had red eyes.

"What is that thing?" he asked.

Aqua looked and widened her eyes when she saw it. The creature was an Unversed, one of Vanitas's servants. But why would it be here?

"I'll take care of this," Aqua said. "Be back in a bit, Zack."

As she ran after it, the creature ran away. Zack noticed Cloud, Leon, and Yuffie approaching him from another direction.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Zack asked.

The group stepped under the roof and Leon walked towards him. "Well before we got soaked, we were fighting off a Heartless invasion. I've never seen so many Heartless at once!"

Zack widened his eyes. "Really? And you still fought them all off?"

Cloud nodded. "We did."

The black-haired warrior frowned. "Did you find, Sephiroth?"

"There was no trace of him," Leon said. "He didn't show up AT ALL during the battle."

Zack crossed his arms. "Then I guess I was wrong. Anyway, we should stop discussing this. You guys look like you went for a swim. Let's just go in and dry off."

The group headed inside, and Zack peered off in the distance, seeing no sign of Aqua. Knowing she'd be alright, the warrior stepped inside.

* * *

No matter how hard the blue-haired girl ran, she could barely keep up with the creature. It paused, turned back, and motioned Aqua to keep following before running again.

"Why is it going so fast?" she asked herself. "And why would Vanitas send one of these things for me? This thing IS trying to have me follow, isn't it?"

The creature began leading her out of the town, down a twisting path that curved back and forth. Finally, it seemed that they were approaching the end of the road, because the creature was headed towards a cliff. Strangely, someone was lying on the ground near the edge. It was Vanitas.

Aqua raced over to him, sat next to him, and looked in horror to see blood on his chest. "Vanitas! Can you hear me? Say something!"

The boy made no reaction, not even the slightest twitch in facial expression. Aqua cast her Curaga spell, and the blood faded away. Though he didn't seem to be breathing.

"Get up!" she yelled. "Please get up!"

Yet her words had no effect. The figure lied there, as still as a rock. Aqua felt her heart beat faster as she feared the worst. Cure spells could heal ANY injuries on a body. But if the person was already dead, it was useless. Since Vanitas was completely immobile, it seemed that was the case.

Aqua tried to feel his pulse, yet her hands were so numb she couldn't tell what state he was in. In one of her rare moments, Aqua began to cry.

She had lost her master when Xehanort destroyed her world.

She had lost Terra when, as Vanitas said, Xehanort took over his body.

She had lost Ventus when he went into a coma after the X-Blade was created.

And now, Vanitas, the person who meant more to her than anyone else…the one person she could relate too…was gone too.

As tears streaked the make-up on her face, Aqua closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. "Vanitas, you can't die now. You're the most important person to me! I can't start living without you! You're the only one who's made me feel this happy. I'm in LOVE with you, Vanitas!"

Crying even more than before, she buried her head in her arms. Strangely, she felt something touching her face. Opening her eyes, she saw Vanitas, wiping away her tears with his hand.

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise," he apologized.

Still crying, Aqua threw her arms around the boy. Surprised at first, Vanitas hugged her in return. Ignoring the harsh rain, Aqua felt herself smile, grateful that she hadn't lost everyone after all.

* * *

Vanitas lied down on his bed, surrounded by Leon, Yuffie, Aqua, and Cloud.

Leon nervously scratched his head. "Sorry about that, Vanitas. We thought you just found your way back here after the battle."

"Yeah," Cloud added. "After the way you took down that Behemoth, I didn't think anything could stop you."

The boy weakly smiled. "Sephiroth almost did."

"I'm impressed you finished him off," Zack admitted. "But that saves me the trouble, I suppose."

Vanitas chuckled softly. "Anything to help."

Aqua and Vanitas stayed in the room, while the others left. Aqua sat next to him.

"I heard what you said back there," Vanitas told her.

She blushed a bit. "Yeah…I was getting worried."

He frowned. "So you didn't mean it."

The girl shook her head. "No, I did. Completely."

Vanitas looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

"I know we promised not to date each other," Aqua said. "But I've realized how I feel. I care about you so much, and I couldn't stand the thought of you d-"

Aqua widened her eyes, as Vanitas kissed her, cutting her off. Completely giving in, Aqua kissed back, lying down next to the boy. The two broke the kiss, but kept their embrace.

"I feel the same way, Aqua," he declared. "I've never been this happy before. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

The girl was astonished by his statement. "Oh, Vanitas…you really are sweet."

He grinned. "Well, you know me. I've always been a sweet guy."

Aqua laughed. "Yeah, like when you tried to stab me with your Keyblade."

He gaped at her. "I was just sparring with you! How is a Keyblade Master supposed to improve without fighting another Keyblade wielder?"

The two laughed, now comfortable with joking about Vanitas's past. If nothing else, that really showed the boy how much things had changed.

Vanitas grinned. "So, we're in bed together. And we KNOW we're in love. Why don't we just skip right to the sex?"

Aqua glared. "NO!"

"I'm joking, relax!" he exclaimed. He slowly grinned. "Besides, you're the one who wanted to do it."

"Stop talking!" Aqua said.

The two laughed, and faced each other again. Strangely, Aqua began to frown. "We still have things to worry about."

"Like what?" Vanitas asked.

"Well, for one, Ven is still asleep," Aqua said.

Vanitas shrugged. "I don't know how to wake him up. And it could mean I'd have to join with him."

The girl guiltily looked at the floor. "Oh. But the worlds are still in trouble."

"Sora will take care of that," Vanitas said. "Listen, just relax for now. We're in love and living in a peaceful setting. And if things grow worse…we'll worry about it then."

Aqua smiled. "You're right."

The two stared deeply at each other. And both knew, that whatever challenge lied ahead…whatever opponent was waiting in the shadows…they'd face it together.

_Author's Note: Thank you all for reading my story! I feel like it's improved over time, and I hope you enjoyed it. Now, I'd be fine with leaving THIS chapter as the ending. But people don't always have the same judgment. So what do you guys think? Should I keep going? Or should it end here? If most of you want me to keep going, I'll continue this story for at least a few more chapters and do another ending._

_EDIT: Due to overwhelming support, this story WILL be continued._


	11. Chapter 11: Celebrations

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 11: Celebrations**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

_AN: Well, here it is guys! The beginning of what I consider the second part of my story. Now, since Vanitas and Aqua are finally together, and since they're hormonal teenagers, there are gonna be more sexual implications. I'm not gonna go as far as doing a lemon (unless you guys REALLY want me to) or describing actual nudity, but there will be hints and what not. Enjoy and review please!_

At the sight of daylight, Vanitas slowly peeked open his eyes, adjusting to the brightness. And for the third time so far, Vanitas hadn't had a nightmare, or any dream for that matter. For Vanitas, sleeping meant dreaming, or more accurately, having nightmares. But since he began spending time with Aqua, his nightmares had stopped. In fact, he didn't dream at all anymore. To him it made little difference though. Dreams didn't really exist. They were just figments of imagination created by one's subconscious. Why experience something fake, especially something as horrifying as his nightmares.

To direct contact with the sun, Vanitas shifted to his right. Strangely though, he touched something. He opened his eyes, realizing that Aqua was next to him, her nightgown now making contact with his shirtless body. The boy smiled in memory of last night's events. The two were finally together. And even though they weren't "sleeping together", he managed to convince her to share a bed with him. He examined her figure, tracing her navy blue outfit with his hand. But what really caught his attention were the two objects attached to her chest. The boy had to admit, Aqua had a better body than anyone else. How he longed to just grab her breasts and feel them…

The youth wanted to slap himself. Was it the darkness giving him these thoughts or just teenage hormones? Whichever it was, Vanitas felt very turned on for some reason. The dark warrior just wanted to feel part of Aqua's body. Yet he felt like he shouldn't. Wouldn't that just be taking advantage of her body? But he cared more about the person she was than the body she had. It would probably be for the best if he at least ASKED her to touch them. Then again, that would be awkward too! The boy realized that he probably shouldn't bother.

Wait a minute, they were dating, right? Don't people who date fool around? Master Xehanort hadn't really told him much about that.

Nervous, Vanitas slowly stretched out his hand, reaching for her boobs. Throwing away his uneasiness, he grabbed one, lightly squeezing it. At that moment, a strong grip took hold of his fingers. He widened his eyes in shock to see Aqua grabbing his hand, the Keyblade Master glaring at him. The two stayed silent, simply staring at each other. Vanitas was speechless, while Aqua was expecting an explanation.

Suddenly, the boy happily smiled, goofily showing his teeth. "Good morning!"

Her expression didn't change. "Get your hand off my tit."

Immediately his hands reeled back under the covers. Deeply inhaling, Aqua looked at him with a more relaxed face.

"Why would you do that?" Aqua asked.

"I'm sorry, Aqua," he said. "I didn't mean to do something you're not comfortable with. I just thought that since we're dating, you wouldn't mind."

She shook her head. "Not for a while. That's going too far. I don't want us to be touching each other's private areas."

"Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed. "I won't do that again. It's dangerous to give into lust. And I don't wanna end up pregnant."

Was he SERIOUS? Aqua started giggling, thinking he was joking. "Stop kidding around. YOU wouldn't get pregnant. I would!"

He shook his head. "No, Master Xehanort told me boys get pregnant."

She stared at him, at first not believing him. Then, when his expression didn't change, she began hysterically laughing. She held her tummy with her hands, and tried to not fall off the bed. Finally, she calmed down.

"Vanitas, I think I need to give you the talk," she said.

He smirked. "I was kidding. And at least I don't SNORT."

She glared at him. "What are you talking about? I don't SNORT!"

He chuckled. "I'm not sure. I think I heard you make a little piggy noise."

"I did not!" she yelled.

"Yes you did," he calmly replied.

"You're lying!" the girl insisted.

"Oink oink," he said in a strange voice.

The female narrowed her eyes at him. "Stop that!"

He moved closer to her face and wiggled his nose. "Oink oink."

"Oh, you're gonna get it now!" she yelled.

Grabbing her pillow, Aqua began to mercilessly pound Vanitas. The boy tried to shield himself with his own, but was no match, and his laughter was making him lose concentration. Aqua knocked it away and began smacking him with it. She started laughing as well, and lied on top of Vanitas. The two sat there, smiling, as content as they could be.

Then, she felt it. And he felt it too. Something firm was sticking out of the lower part of his bodysuit. Both their smiles faded, quickly replaced by blushes on their faces.

"I…didn't know you found me so attractive," she remarked.

Stupid! Why would she say THAT? He had a boner for crying out loud!

Vanitas gulped. "Uh, yeah. Snorting turns me on."

Although she found the joke very funny, she could only awkwardly laugh. Rolling off him, Aqua lied next to the boy, both waiting for their faces' color to return to normal. Vanitas's face was even more red, like a tomato almost. After a few moments of silence, the two finally calmed down. Smiling again, Aqua turned to him. And he smiled back. He always did.

Aqua was no longer gazing into his amber eyes. Her attention was now focused on his shirtless torso. The girl had to admit, Vanitas certainly was in good shape. Possibly the most muscular part was the six pack. Aqua had an urge to feel them, to rub her fingers against their rocky surface. She had rarely seen such an impressive body. The wielder of darkness didn't look quite as big as Terra, but his muscles were a bit more defined. If nothing else, he was certainly in better shape than Ven, who had less muscle than her.

Terra.

Ven.

At the sound of their names, a tear slowly crept out of her eye. At the sight of this, Vanitas frowned and cupped her face. He hated it when she cried. It only reminded him of how he couldn't keep his promise. Every time she broke into tears, he felt like a failure.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a soothing voice.

Refusing to cry, Aqua wiped away the tear. "I'm worried about Terra and Ven. Are you sure there's no way to bring them back, Vanitas?"

Resting his head against the pillow, the boy began to ponder that question. Ventus might be able to wake up on his own. After all, if he could survive without Vanitas once, he could do it again, right? And besides, Vanitas survived as well, which was even more proof. But to awaken Ven, they'd need to find his heart. However, Vanitas, being connected to his light side, already knew where his heart was.

Terra was more difficult. Since the dark warrior had destroyed his body mere days ago, the earth fighter might be gone. However, even if his body is gone, his heart could be intact. But where could it be? Truthfully, Vanitas knew very little about the Keyblade warrior. If his heart was still around, where would it be?

"I think that Ven could come back," he admitted. "I know where his heart is. However, I don't know how to find Terra's. I mean, it's not like there's a way to track him."

But there was. That was how Aqua found him the first time. After resting Ven in the transformed Land of Departure, Aqua's heart led the woman to Terra. How could she do that again? Did she just have to desire it? Or did she have to recall all the memories of him?

The bed sheets, colored black like the boy's hair, unraveled as Aqua stepped out. Vanitas watched her, his eyes almost popping out when he caught a glimpse of her panties. They were pink, brightly contrasting with her eyes. Something started to poke out his pants again, yet he threw the sheet over it to conceal the truth. But he couldn't deny it. He wanted her. Bad. No matter how strong his desire was though, he wouldn't force her into doing ANYTHING. Quickly stretching, the girl turned around to face Vanitas. His expression was calm again.

"Where's Ven's heart?" she inquired.

"It's now a part of Sora's," Vanitas answered. "Still, I believe the two hearts can be separated and kept intact."

Hopeful, Aqua held a hand over her heart. "So…we could bring him back?"

The boy nodded. Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door. Leon popped his head in.

"Morning guys," he said.

"Hey Leon," the boy replied.

"You need something?" Aqua inquired.

The brunette shook his head. "Nah, I'm just making sure you guys know about the party."

The two exchanged glances, leading Leon to widen his eyes in understanding for a moment. "Oh, that's right! We forgot to tell you guys. Every year we hold a party to celebrate this organization's anniversary. Tonight's the third year anniversary."

"Is there some sort of formal attire?" Aqua asked.

"Nah, just wear your usual clothes," the man responded.

"Good," Vanitas said. "Because all I have right now are copies of my bodysuit."

"Yeah," Aqua agreed. "I only have duplicates of my same outfit."

"Well that's what all people wear," Leon said. "In fact, I've never seen someone wear more than one outfit. That'd be…weird. Like changing your identity everyday."

Aqua nodded. "Exactly. It's like changing your face every day."

"But some people might WANT to change their faces," Vanitas argued.

She raised an eyebrow. Did she hear that right? Was her boyfriend high or something?

"What?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Ugly people would want a different face. I mean, Leon, don't you wanna change your face?"

Aqua stifled her laughter while Vanitas innocently looked at the glaring man.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," he muttered.

"Wait, it was just a joke!" Vanitas yelled toward the doorway.

He sighed, reclining on the bed. "Doesn't that guy have a sense of humor?"

Aqua giggled. "I just think he doesn't have YOUR sense of humor, Vani."

He raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Vani? Is that my pet name now?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"I'd give you one," he offered. "But I think Aqua is just fine."

"I couldn't agree more," she said. "It's short enough anyway."

He lightly kissed her, softly brushing her hair. Breaking the physical contact, Vanitas stood up and headed into the bathroom.

"I'll take a shower," he called out.

"Okay," Aqua replied.

Strangely, the girl felt her heart racing. The kiss was good, but she felt like she wanted more. Like she wanted to explore more parts of his body. But she couldn't. They were still teenagers! Granted she was a bit older, but even so. And she wasn't ready to risk having a baby. Thus, her hormonal feminine urges would have to be brushed aside and suppressed. Trying to think about something else, her thoughts shifted to Sora. Having not seen him in 12 years, the warrior wondered what he'd look like. Though, even as a child, he looked similar to Vanitas. Why was that, anyway? Just what was Vanitas's connection to Sora? And why, as the others had once said, did they have the same face?

The bluenette began wondering what Sora was doing. Was he busy saving a world, or scouring the realm of darkness trying to find her? She hoped he was still in the realm of light, otherwise he'd be wasting his time. The girl hoped that he was alright though, despite personally knowing little about him. Then, she began to wonder about the other boy. The white-haired one who was with Sora…Riku. Were they still best friends? Or did their friendship fall apart? Her friendship with Terra nearly did, after he found out how Eraqus asked her to spy on him.

Friendship. She valued it so much. One benefit from her journey throughout the worlds was that she made so many friends. But she refused to say it was worth it. Terra and Ven, her two closest friends, weren't with her anymore. Whatever the cost, they had to return to normal.

Suddenly, she heard whistling. The water was no longer running, and Vanitas was approaching the bed with his bodysuit on. The Keyblade Master almost smirked. Despite being doused with water, his hair retained its shape.

"Ah, a shower in the morning always makes me feel better," he remarked.

Something wasn't right. She seemed tense. The bluenette barely even glanced at him. He sat next to her, lightly holding her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" he inquired. "Listen, if it's about before, I genuinely meant what I said. It won't happen again."

She smiled at him. "No, it's not that. I just miss Terra and Ven so much."

He nodded. "I guess that's understandable. They've always meant the most to you, haven't they?"

"Well, before we fell in love, yes," she answered.

"Don't worry," he said. "We'll look for them soon. But let's stay here for a bit, at least tonight so we can make it to the party."

She nodded. "That sounds good, Vanitas."

* * *

Since Eraqus never held parties, Aqua grew up wondering if warriors had too many important duties to be hosting social events. Being part of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee had taught her otherwise. When she and Vanitas arrived at the party, they found it was being held in a ballroom at the castle. Yet it wasn't formal really. There was music playing from a large stereo system as well as snacks and drinks scattered across a table All the members of the committee were having a good time. Zack was the first to notice the pair's arrival.

"Hey, fashionably late as usual," he said jokingly.

Vanitas did a double take, confused by his remark. "What are you talking about? We're here a minute before it officially starts."

"I know," the grown warrior stated. "I was being sarcastic."

Aqua smiled in understanding. Vanitas, however, scratched his head. "What's that mean?"

Zack gaped before laughing a bit. "Wow, you're really sheltered. Sarcastic means I'm joking. I said you were late when you weren't."

"So you lied," Vanitas said simply.

"No, I said it sarcastically," he replied.

"Which you've basically described as lying," the boy countered.

Zack groaned. "No, it's not the same thing! When you're being sarcastic, you're trying to make a joke."

"Oh, so you're trying to make me look like a joke?" Vanitas questioned. "You know, I might be made of pure darkness, but I have feelings too. Let's go, Aqua."

The bluenette, still unable to determine if he was serious, just stared at him. After staring at the floor for a moment, Zack rushed up to the boy, stopping a few feet behind him.

"Wait, Vanitas," he said. "I'm being serious. I honestly wasn't trying to lie to you. It was just a joke."

The boy slowly turned, letting go of Zack. He stared at the youth, and his guilty expression was soon replaced with confusion. Vanitas was smiling.

"Relax," the Keyblade wielder responded. "I was joking the whole time."

The man stared in shock, leading Vanitas to laugh. Aqua almost laughed too.

Zack smirked, and punched the dark warrior's shoulder, which only made him laugh more. "That's the last time I take you seriously."

With that, he walked over to the others. Aqua stepped up to Vanitas, who was still smiling.

"At least he took it well," the boy said.

"You really can take those jokes far, can't you?" she asked.

"Come on, I heard you laughing," he said.

Aqua silently walked away and Vanitas followed her. The two noticed massive portraits on the wall, each of them displaying an image of one of Radiant Garden's past rulers.

"Wow, this place sure has had a lot of kings," Vanitas remarked.

"Are you sure they're kings?" she asked. "It doesn't list the title here."

The boy narrowed his yellow orbs in confusion. "Well what ELSE could they be? They lived in this castle and ruled over a kingdom."

"Maybe monarchs," she suggested.

"That's basically the same thing," he replied.

She shrugged. "I guess you're right. It doesn't really matter."

Eyeing the portraits again, Vanitas looked in shock at the last one. The young wielder immediately recognized the blonde hair and beard, along with the man's orange eyes.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I forgot to get Ansem the Wise!"

The Keyblade Master quirked an eyebrow. "Ansem? Who's that?"

Vanitas looked at the girl, and laugh. But it wasn't his recent enjoyable laugh or the insane one he used years ago. It was awkward.

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you something while we were in the dark realm, Aqua," he admitted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leon and Cloud were standing near the two bowls of liquids. One was blue while the other had a reddish tint.

"So what is this stuff?" Cloud asked.

"Punch," the other replied. "Alcoholic and non-alcoholic."

"Why'd you put both?" the blonde asked.

"So if you don't want to risk getting wasted, you can still drink something," the brunette explained.

"I guess that makes sense," Cloud agreed.

The blonde took a sip of the red fluid. Surprised at first, he swallowed and turned to his friend. "This is the one with alcohol, I presume?"

Leon nodded. "It's a bit strong."

* * *

Aqua stared at Vanitas in surprise. "So the guy I met in the Realm of Darkness was really the ruler of this world? And you forgot to bring him back?"

"I'm sorry!" he apologized. "Everything was happening so fast that I became distracted. It didn't even cross my mind when we came here!"

The girl sighed. "It's alright. There's nothing to complain about if you forgot to tell me one thing."

Vanitas gazed at the floor. Aqua saw the hesitation in his eyes. "Vanitas, you DID only forget to tell me about that, right? Or is there something else important you haven't mentioned?"

He nodded. "There is actually."

Surprised at first, Aqua calmly looked at him, wondering what it could be. The boy felt he'd regret his next statement, but he had to say it. Aqua needed to know the truth. He wasn't sure if Terra or Ven ever told her, but he couldn't take that chance. If they were going to have an open relationship, the secret had to be unveiled.

"Aqua…there's something about me I've never mentioned," he explained. "It's true that I'm pure darkness, but there's more to it than that. I'm…I'm Ven's darkness."

The girl gaped. Ven, her innocent and naïve friend, was this boy's other half?

"How?" she asked.

"In order to create the X-Blade, you need a heart of light and one of darkness," he explained. "In order to ensure its creation, Master Xehanort decided to merely separate Ven's darkness. That way, all he had to do was fuse them together. When his darkness was released, I was born."

Her eyes stayed fixated on the floor. Vanitas lowered his as well.

"I understand this might make things awkward," the boy stated. "So, if you need time to think again, I'll und-"

Out of nowhere, her lips were pressed against his. Caught off guard at first, he relaxed and returned every ounce of it. Aqua broke the lip-lock, softly running her fingers through his dark hair.

"I love you for your personality," she explained. "To me, it doesn't matter whose darkness you are. You're your own person, Vanitas. I can't find any similarity between you and Ven actually."

He smiled, relieved to know her feelings hadn't changed. Above them, the lights dimmed, and a slow song began to play. They turned to the others, and saw that they were beginning to dance.

"Come on, Squall!" Yuffie insisted. "You're good at dancing!"

"Uh, fine," he said somewhat reluctantly.

Shortly after the two walked off, Tifa approached Cloud, warmly grinning. He took her hand, the slightest smirk forming on his face.

"After you," the man agreed.

Aqua turned to her boyfriend. "So, Vani…I hope you don't have two left feet."

He held out his hand. "Trust me, I don't. Master Xehanort always said I was a great dancer when we used to practice."

Grimacing at that pedophilic image for a moment, Aqua shook her head and laughed. "You're sick."

She took his hand, and they slowly walked near the others. When they got close enough, they began to dance, slowly going back and forth. She gazed at his yellow orbs. They were fiery, full of passion. And she no longer cared that they represented darkness. If Vanitas was the embodiment of darkness, then she loved darkness even more than light.

The boy couldn't help but look into her blue eyes. They were cerulean…or sapphire…or some shade like that. He never did learn many advanced colors. But they were calm and peaceful, just like the ocean. Could that be the reason she was named Aqua? It made sense. And her name's meaning went beyond her appearance. Just being with her made him feel calm and at peace.

The song switched to a fast-paced one, and the two walked off the dance floor.

"I'm getting some punch," Aqua announced.

As she walked away, Vanitas noticed Zack leaning against the wall.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked. "You're not dancing with anyone?"

He shook his head. "There used to be this girl I cared about. She was beautiful and her personality was so optimistic. But a few months ago, Sephiroth found her roaming the streets alone. He killed her on the spot."

Vanitas was speechless. How could someone go through such a painful lost and still keep going?

"That's terrible," he said. "What was her name?"

"Aerith," he responded.

The man smirked at him. "But don't worry about me, kid. I'll be fine."

Vanitas crossed his arms. "Who you calling kid? I'm a teenager."

Zack laughed. "Older people call me kid still. Doesn't matter how old you get. To someone, you'll always be a kid."

With that, the man walked off, leaving Vanitas to take in his philosophical viewpoint. He saw Aqua drinking a cup of the red punch. The dark warrior stepped next to his love.

"How is it?" he asked.

She looked at him, her eyes half open. "It tastes funny at first, but you get used to it, hehe."

He raised an eyebrow. Why was she laughing? And why did something seem off about her. She started to walk past him, but tripped. Vanitas quickly caught her and the empty cup.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed. "I almost fell, haha."

Vanitas looked at her suspiciously, holding her so she was eyelevel with him. Their faces were only inches apart.

"Aqua…are you feeling alright?" he inquired.

She hiccupped. "Of course, Vani."

Then he smelled it. Her breath didn't smell fresh and sweet like before. It was…dirty almost. Yet he didn't recognize the odor. It definitely smelled bad though. Just what WAS in that punch?

The boy noticed Leon walking over.

"Hey, Leon, what's in this red punch?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Alcohol," he said. "Why? You didn't drink it, did you?"

Vanitas narrowed his eyes at Aqua. "I didn't drink it."

"Whoops!" Aqua yelled. "So THAT'S what was in it!"

Leon scratched his head. "Wow, I guess she's not a heavy drinker."

"Is this even legal for us to drink?" Vanitas asked.

Leon shrugged. "I don't know. Nobody's really established that law since this world fell to darkness. Besides, WE'RE the law enforcement, so it doesn't matter."

"I'm bringing her back," the boy declared.

"Aww!" Aqua moaned.

He started walking away, supporting his tipsy girlfriend's shoulder as he did.

* * *

Vanitas softly placed Aqua on the bed. The girl, her lids half shut, was smiling at him.

"You're really hot," she remarked.

He smirked at that. Maybe she was getting back to normal. The boy lightly lied down next to her, their faces locked in a gaze.

"So are you," he told her.

Suddenly, Aqua leapt on top of him, her body crushing his at first.

"Aqua…what are you doing?" he nervously asked.

"Well I'm TRYING to do you, silly" she explained.

He looked at her in shock. She was THAT drunk? Just this morning, she specifically said to avoid sex for now.

"Baby, weren't you the one who said we couldn't have sex this morning?" he asked.

"Pfftt, that was this MORNING!" she said. "A girl can change her mind you know."

Vanitas still didn't feel comfortable with this. This wasn't the Aqua he knew. This was a twisted, drunk version of her. And if she found out that he broke their promise, the relationship he's strived to establish could be permanently ruined.

"Aqua…no," he said. "We just can't do this."

She frowned, realizing he wouldn't be convinced.

"Fine," she stated.

Without warning, Aqua began taking off her top. Before she could reveal anything, Vanitas held it down.

"No, don't show me anything!" he begged. "Go change in the bathroom."

"Aw, what's wrong Vani?" she asked. "You wanted to see my breasts this morning, didn't you?"

He shook his head. "I just would feel more comfortable if you'd change in the bathroom."

Giving in, she walked up and and entered the bathroom. As she strolled away, Vanitas mentally slapped himself. He REALLY wanted to see more of Aqua's body, but when she was sober. Sure, she might not remember this night, but that didn't matter. The dark warrior refused to take advantage of her.

The bathroom door finally opened, and Aqua approached him in a pink nightgown. She lied down next to him, groaning as he took off the upper part of his bodysuit. The bottom part, therefore, simply acted as long underwear. He silently thanked Yuffie for helping him cut all his clothes in half. Throwing the top near the wall, Vanitas lied on his side, facing Aqua. The girl groaned as she stroked his abs. Suddenly, her eyes returned to normal size for a moment. Then the blue orbs returned to their half open states. She giggled slightly.

"Guess what, Vani?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow, clueless as to what it could be. "What?"

"I'm wet," she said.

The boy groaned. "Great, you peed your pants? I didn't know you were that drunk."

She smirked seductively. "Not THAT kind of wet, Vani."

Puzzled at first, the boy realized what she meant. And he gaped, his yellow eyes wide with shock. His cheeks were as red as his bodysuit. Did she REALLY find him that attractive? Had this happened before possibly?

"I…think we should go to bed, Aqua," he said.

She nodded, kissing him on the head. "Good night, honey."

"Sleep well, my love," he told her.

The two closed their eyes. But one thing was for sure. Vanitas was NEVER going to let Aqua drink alcohol again.

* * *

Staring out into the ocean, a man cloaked in black sadly sat upon a rock. Aqua and the boy had left long ago, leaving him on his own. But maybe he deserved this fate. Maybe he was SUPPOSED to remain in this realm, as punishment for all the people his research had harmed. He hoped they would come back soon. After all, time in the Realm of Darkness was slower than that in the Realm of Light. Thus, for him, the wait wouldn't seem quite as long.

Suddenly, a bright door of purely white light appeared. Out of it, stepped a boy. Yet it wasn't Vanitas. Though he certainly resembled him, with the spikey brown hair and identical face. Sora eyed the man suspiciously, taking out his Keyblade.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Aqua?" he demanded.

"The woman is safe, Sora," the man said. "And you already know me."

As he lifted the hood off, the boy stared in shock. "Ansem the Wise. You're alive?"

He nodded. "I've been waiting for you. As has Aqua. Though, someone else found her first I'm afraid, and they left this place."

Sora quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Who?"

"His name was Vanitas," the man said.

The hero was shocked to hear that name. "Vanitas is alive?"

"You know him?" Ansem asked.

"No, but King Mickey did," he replied. "And Mickey said that Vanitas was an evil Keyblade wielder who he and Aqua defeated long ago."

"Really?" Ansem asked. "Well, that's very interesting. Tell me though, how did you know to look HERE for Aqua?"

The boy held a hand over his heart. "Ven, her old friend, fused his heart with my own a long time ago. By training myself to follow their connection, I was able to learn that she ended up here."

"I see," Ansem said. "The heart truly is mysterious. To think that it could be capable of such a thing."

He shot a beam of light from his Keyblade. At first, it was just a small circle. But it grew, into a doorway much like the one he had emerged from. He smiled at Ansem.

"Well, let's take you home first," he said. "I have a feeling that we'll find them there anyway."

"Finally…I can see my beautiful home," the man said.

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Don't be disappointed if it's less glamorous."

Ansem's smile faded, yet he didn't frown. "I was afraid of that. When a world falls to darkness, much of its appearance is ruined."

The two entered the portal, and vanished in a flash of light.


	12. Chapter 12: A New Mission

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 12: A New Mission**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

_AN: WHAT? I haven't updated for four months! Wow, I feel awful now. Sorry that took so long. I'll try to make sure the next one's out in a month at latest. Anyway, here's the latest chapter in which Sora meets our protagonists. To try to make up for the wait, I've thrown in a pretty good fight. Enjoy and review!_

Everything was blurry, slowly fading into focus. After blinking a few times, Aqua looked up to see the familiar tiled ceiling of her bedroom. Glancing to her left, she found Vanitas sleeping peacefully beside her. The girl tried to sit up, but felt a huge pain surge through her stomach and head as she did. Weakened, she softly collapsed against the pillow. As she tried to recall the events of the previous night, Aqua couldn't remember a thing, as if something had erased her memory. Now she was beginning to understand what Ven must have felt like when he first visited the Land of Departure.

"What happened…" she muttered.

At the sound of her voice, Vanitas's tired eyelids peeled open. He glanced to his left to find a pair of confused blue eyes staring at him.

"Morning, Aqua," he greeted.

She rubbed her forehead. "Morning."

He smirked. "You seem worn out."

"Yeah, and I don't know why," she answered.

"Is it that you don't know or don't remember?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "Vanitas, what did I do last night?"

The youth folded his arms behind his head. "You started drinking some of the punch there. Turns out it had alcohol, and you were drunk in moments."

The girl was in shock. No wonder she felt so awful. She was wasted! But what exactly did she do last night in her disoriented state?

"Did I do anything embarrassing?" she inquired.

He stared for a moment, unsure whether he should tell her the truth.

"Nothing you should worry about," the boy replied.

"Please, Vanitas, I need to know," she begged.

He groaned. "Well don't freak out, but you were all over me last night. You even tried to convince me to…"

The Keyblade Master waited for him to finish, but he just couldn't.

"…do you," the boy said.

Aqua felt the heat rise as her cheeks furiously blushed. She was shocked at how far the chemicals had pushed her. Her gaze suspiciously skimmed over the boy's shirtless torso.

He raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"You…I mean, you resisted, right?" she nervously asked.

He smiled, nodding at her. She breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that her misguided attempt had failed. The boy cupped her chin with his hand.

"Cheer up, it wasn't your fault," he assured her. "Neither of us knew that would happen."

She twiddled with her thumbs. "Do the others…know about what I tried to make you do?"

He shook his head.

"Please don't tell them," she asked.

Vanitas nodded. "Definitely."

The girl stood up from bed. And then, she realized her outfit was a bit moist. Her eyes expanded in fear, immediately understanding what must have happened. She turned to see Vanitas putting on his bodysuit's upper half, spraying himself with his deodorant. The scent was good, but was somehow dark, with a similar scent to his dark attacks. The Keyblade Master once hated the smell, but now she yearned for it. Suddenly, she noticed her boyfriend heading toward the door.

"I'm gonna head into town," the boy announced. "It's my turn to restock the committee's potion supplies."

"See you soon," Aqua called after him.

* * *

Sunlight. Standing in that dark realm made it feel like an eternity since he had seen it. Yet now Sora proudly looked at the bright orb floating high above. He was another step further in his quest. Aqua might still be missing, but he had found Ansem. If nothing else, Mickey would certainly be happy that his old friend had returned from the shadows. Sora couldn't help but notice Ansem smiling. He had never seen the researcher so giddy with joy before.

"You seem happy," the boy remarked.

"It looks just like I remember it," Ansem said.

"I'm surprised too," he admitted. "I mean, it looked a little better a year ago, but now it looks beautiful."

Even with Ansem found, Sora still had progress to make. Aqua was the only missing person who could be easily found. Ven's heart was combined with his own, and so long as his body lacked his heart, the warrior could never awaken. Plus, Sora didn't even know WHERE his body was. Terra, on the other hand, would be just as hard to find. If Yen Sid's research is correct, then the new Xehanort was the fusion of Terra and Master Xehanort, which meant that in order to save the valiant warrior, Sora would have to defeat his cruel possessor. But that was a mission for another day. Right now, he had to find Aqua and protect her from Vanitas. He knew Vanitas was Ven's darkness, and arguably had the potential to be the most sadistic villain.

Just as he began imagining the dark warrior, his thoughts seemed to take physical form in the corner of his eye. Sora stared in shock to see a figure walking in the distance, his back turned. Yet one thing was for certain. This person was wearing a black and red bodysuit.

"Go ahead, Ansem, I'll catch up later!" Sora yelled.

Before the ruler could get out a word, the Keyblade's chosen one rushed away. Sora summoned the Kingdom Key, ready to battle. He stopped a few feet away from the target.

"Vanitas!" the boy called out.

The dark-haired fighter stopped in his tracks. The voice was so similar to his own. He slowly turned, and the two gaped in shock. Before him was a boy, one whose development rested in the gray area between adulthood and adolescence. His outfit was similar to Ven's, or at least the one half of it. The spiky hair was a soft shade of brown, the eyes bright hues of blue, and the skin was tan.

Sora was astonished. Mickey had told him everything about the warrior, even the fact that he had a tight bodysuit. But Sora didn't know Vanitas would be identical to himself! Save for the black hair, menacing yellow eyes, and pale skin, of course. Oh yes, at this point that was the only difference, for Sora had grown stronger in the past year. His muscles…strangely enough…had increased to the same size of Vanitas's, even though he wasn't any taller.

The doppelgangers stared at one another. Finally, Vanitas held up his hand. "Hey Sora! You're looking fit."

Sora glared at him. "So you know me after all…good. This way we can skip the introductions…"

The hero of light held out his other hand, summoning oblivion. Vanitas gazed in confusion. Why did he want to fight? And how did he seem to know who he was?

Sora smiled, holding both weapons toward his opponent. "…and get right to the battle!"

"Wait, I don't want to fight you!" Vanitas exclaimed.

"Well I want to fight you!" Sora countered. "I know full well what you've done."

Vanitas glared, finally understanding. Sora's heart was connected to Ven's. That's why Vanitas had his appearance in the first place. But more importantly, Sora is relying on Ven for his information. And the last time he saw Ven, he had tried to slay Aqua and take over his body. No, he DID take over his body, which made matters even worse. Sora must be seeking vengeance for what the masked youth once did.

The dark embodiment held out his hand, blue flames swirling between his fingers. Finally, they began to grow, forming his usual geared Keyblade. But it was different this time. The color had been drained, leaving the weapon itself to consist of only white and black shades. Sora noticed the difference. And suddenly, as darkness poured out from him, the boy's bodysuit began to change too. The color faded, and the dim red lines transformed into luminous streaks of white.

Sora smirked. "So you're going all out? That's fine by me."

He crossed his arms, extending them as far as he could. In a brief flash of light, his clothes lit up. The outfit was now only black and white, the patterns seeming to emanate twilight. The boy smirked as he held out Oblivion and the Kingdom Key.

Vanitas grimaced. "This might be tougher than I thought. I'm not gonna back away from a fight though."

Sora made the first move, dashing towards his opponent with his blades angled back. As he closed in, he swung the blades, only to have both blocked by Vanitas's own monochromatic weapon. The hero broke the dead lock, swinging Oblivion right through his opponent's head. Yet something was wrong. The weapon had cut right through, yet Vanitas's form was completely still. Suddenly, Sora heard the air rush from above, looking up to see Vanitas bringing his weapon down. The chosen one leaned backward, barely avoiding the strike. Yet Vanitas was far from done. Upon impaling the ground, the weapon released a burst of ice crystals that stabbed into Sora's chest. He grunted in pain as the attack knocked him back, yet he held his footing.

The warrior of light charged at Vanitas, both Keyblades pointed towards him. Vanitas rolled to the side to dodge it, but just as he landed, he noticed Sora was charging once more. He back-flipped into the air, winding back his Void Gear. Vanitas swung it forward, discharging sparks of blue electricity towards the lookalike. Sora's eyes widened in shock at the lightning racing for him. The boy cast Reflega, successfully nullifying the voltage with the barrier. The dark youth landed, and noticed Sora jump above him. The hero's Keyblades were spinning around him, and with a flick of his hand, they flew toward Vanitas. The dark warrior blocked the Kingdom Key, but Oblivion dug into his side, tearing away a section of his bodysuit and skin.

With his free hand, Vanitas clutched his side. Sora's weapons dug into the ground, the hilts glowing. Vanitas encased himself in a sphere of darkness, just as the weapons emitted a burst of light. Sora glided towards the orb, slashing it with an endless assault of blows. Yet the ball seemed to be made of the strangest material. The harder he struck it, the more the surface resisted. Suddenly, a pattern of hexagons glowed on the surface.

"What's yours is mine!" Vanitas shouted.

A wisp of darkness flew out of the orb, taking on a purely black and uncolored form of Vanitas. The shadow slashed toward Sora, and the boy somersaulted away. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as he noticed that the shadow was frozen in place. The boy struck it with his Keyblades, yet the being seemed to be made from the same unbreakable material as the shield. Suddenly, Sora felt something surge into his side. He turned to see a second shadow frozen with its Keyblade indented into him. Realizing Vanitas had only begun creating these minions, Sora whipped his head around to see a third shadow charging toward him. He rolled out of the way, and continued to dodge each of the shadows born from the orb. Finally, the orb erupted in a dark shockwave, and Sora looked in fear at Vanitas rapidly charging toward him in a blue aura.

"Suffer!" the warrior of darkness yelled. With little time to react, Sora held up is Keyblades in a desperate effort to shield himself. His blades clashed with Void Gear, yet the impact's force knocked him down. Enraged, Sora jumped to his feet, pointing his Keyblades toward Vanitas. Light began to shine from the weapon's tips, slowly growing brighter and brighter. Finally, a dozen blasts of light fired from the weapons toward Vanitas. The youth jumped into the air, yet widened his eyes upon seeing the orbs of light homing on to him. The light seared against Vanitas, burning off the threads covering his chest. The antihero glanced down to see that Sora was far from finished. The boy unleashed another barrage of light. Vanitas vanished into thin air, reappearing on the ground.

He smirked to see the onslaught completely miss, but noticed another group of glowing orbs about to hit him. He rolled out of the way, evading the orbs as they dissipated against the ground. The two locked gazes once more. Vanitas held his palm outward and raised his Keyblade, smiling for some reason.

"That's more like it!" he said. "Come on, Sora! Show me your power."

The hero's expression remained the same, his grip tightening around the legendary blades. And suddenly, he raised them into the air, creating a colorful Magnega mass. The spell pulled Vanitas in, twirling him in circles with its invisible force. As he spun round and round, Sora leaped into the air, slashing his Keyblades against him. With every strike another small strand of the skirt was torn off, with Vanitas grunting in pain each time. The spell finally wore off, and both combatants landed. Enraged, Vanitas raised his Keyblade toward the sky.

"That's enough," he said.

A single bolt of orange energy rained down on the boy, igniting his Keyblade with a bright glow. He swung toward Sora, deadlocking with his blades. Vanitas jumped into the air, bringing his Void Gear down on the ground. From the blade's tip, a huge discharge of energy shaped like an X spread across the pavement, engulfing Sora. Gritting his teeth, the boy looked up to see Vanitas in the air once more. He swung the monochromatic weapon, emitting a yet another X shaped attack. But this was more solid and firm, with the corners angled back a bit. The blast slowly homed in on Sora, who confidently slammed the X with his Keyblade. The energy dissolved upon colliding with the blade, leading Sora to smile.

"You call that an attack?" the blue-eyed warrior taunted.

"Trust me, you haven't seen my full capabilities yet," Vanitas assured him.

Sora charged at him, Keyblade first. Yet Vanitas smirked, and just as the two levitating weapons flew towards him, dashed away in the blink of an eye. His movement was so fast that Sora could only see a dark blur. The boy looked around in shock as everything went black. And then, something began to glow. Two rows of crystals were surrounding the boy, their sharp edges pointed towards him. The dark objects seemed to be faintly glowing.

"See ya!" Vanitas called out.

At that moment, the crystals lunged forward, flooding Sora with painful amounts of darkness. The pants of his outfit were scorched, the once white parts now a depressing shade of gray. He raised his head, glaring at the boy in front of him.

"I'm not giving up!" Sora declared.

At that moment, Vanitas noticed something odd. For the first time, he realized that Sora's right hand was covered in a dark gauntlet. He immediately recognized the design, realizing what the piece must belong to. Keyblade armor. The boy had Keyblade armor. But who could provide him with that?

Noticing the confusion in his opponent's expression, Sora aimed his Keyblade forward. He shot three bursts of Blizzaga toward the dark youth. To counter the ice, Vanitas launched a small fireball. Just as the blasts grew closer, the sphere burst into three pieces, melting all the ice into harmless water.

Sora aimed his Keyblade again. "Let me show you a real fire attack."

The boy released a huge ball of fire, and immediately cast Reflega afterwards. Puzzled at first, Vanitas stared in awe to see the fireball explode, covering the whole area in a burning inferno. The flames danced across his body, knocking him to the ground. Sore and tired, the dark youth stood up, the ashes of his skirt scattering in the wind. He raised Void Gear, and swung the Keyblade in a huge arc. Sora didn't understand though. Why would he try a close range attack from so far away? Just as he finished the swing, the aura of the strike began to grow, turning into a giant blue crescent. It accelerated toward Sora, leading the boy to jump high above. As he did, he saw Vanitas glowing with a thick cyan aura.

"There's no escape!" the dark warrior cried out.

Vanitas charged toward Sora, intent on striking him in the air. With a burst of wind, Sora shot up once more, narrowly avoiding the charge. Vanitas did a one eighty, soaring toward Sora yet again. The hero of light winded back his Keyblades, chucking them toward Vanitas like a boomerang. The boy ignored the pain as they smashed against his sides, and continued toward Sora. With no time left to react, Sora widened his eyes in shock. Vanitas hit him head on, sending the warrior plummeting toward the ground. He quickly recovered from the collision, landing lightly on his feet. The dark opponent floated down some distance from him.

"What's wrong, Sora?" he asked. "Giving up already?"

Surprised that he would quote Riku, Sora glared at the warrior. "That's…MASTER Sora to you!"

Out of nowhere, a bright white light enveloped the boy, his Kingdom Key transforming into a far more powerful form…the Ultima weapon. He held the Keyblades together, forming an angle with the tip pointing towards Vanitas. Sparks of electricity began to dance between the blades, and a small miasma of light began to gather. Vanitas stared in shock, realizing he'd have to step up his game.

The dark warrior began floating in the air, aiming Void Gear toward his foe. Three bright hexagons formed around the blade, and shot three separate lines of darkness. The lines met at the Keyblade's tip, and swirls of darkness began to form.

"Darkness waits!" Vanitas screamed.

He launched a dark blast of energy with a cyan glow, the tip shaped like an X. The darkness speeded toward Sora, hungering for his power. At the same time, Sora began shooting a huge bright laser of light. The blasts met, and a swirl of energy began to form between them. Sparks and wind flew out of the swirl, and Vanitas's dark blast slowly began to decrease.

"No, no!" he shouted in denial.

The light overpowered the darkness, and rushed towards Vanitas, consuming him. His vision was blinded, and every inch of his body was searing with pain. When the light had finally faded, the boy fell to the ground. The Void Gear dropped and disappeared in a burst of flames. Vanitas's bodysuit returned to the normal color. Panting, he suddenly noticed two blades resting against his throat. He gazed up to see Sora preparing to slay him.

"I never wanted to fight you, actually," Vanitas admitted. "Well done by the way."

"Where is Aqua?" Sora asked. "I know you kidnapped her.

The dark youth chuckled. "Is that what they call dating these days?"

Sora raised his eyebrows in shock. "DATING?"

Vanitas laughed. "Follow me. I'll show you where she is."

Uncertain of whether he should trust him, Sora followed the dark entity. As they walked, Vanitas glanced back toward him, finally understanding why he was so hard. The boy was a Keyblade Master. And from the way he said that, it seemed like the title was official.

* * *

Sora was impressed at the castle's new interior. The gloomy throne room was much brighter now, and the Heartless symbol had been removed. He followed Vanitas into the dining hall, where he saw Aqua eating at the table.

"Master Aqua!" Sora shouted with relief.

She turned, her eyes widening at first. In front of her stood a boy, a boy she hadn't seen in over a decade. He was older, and looked like an incredibly gifted warrior. Then she noticed something lying around his neck. A charm shaped like a star, much like the ones she made for Terra and Ven. It seemed that his friendship had a similar beginning. She only hoped it didn't have a similar FATE.

"Sora…is that you?" she asked.

He nodded. The girl looked at him in shock. "Wow, you've grown so much. What are you doing here?"

"Taking me to school," Vanitas muttered.

Sora crossed his arms behind his head, smiling. "We had a little skirmish. Vanitas didn't do too good though."

"Sora…I'm not sure how much you know, but…Vanitas and I are dating," she explained.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's what I heard. I thought that Ansem meant you were kidnapped by him, especially since you two used to be enemies."

"Wait, you ran into Ansem?" Vanitas inquired.

"Actually he's upstairs, Vanitas," Aqua replied. "The members are showing him what they've done with the place. He's gonna be staying here too."

Sora sat at the table. "I actually came here to find you, Master Aqua."

She giggled. "Please, just call me Aqua."

He nodded. "Okay, then you can just call me Sora."

Was he implying something?

"Wait…are you saying…" she began to ask.

Then, she sensed his power. It was astonishing, probably even greater than her own.

"I can't believe it," she muttered. "You're a master now!"

He nodded. "Yep. Yen Sid conducted the exam. Me and Riku did amazing! It was a little tough, but we became so much more powerful by going through it."

"Where is Riku?" she asked.

The boy leaned back in his chair. "He and Mickey are trying to find ways to bring back other people who are missing. And more importantly, they're trying to find Xehanort."

Vanitas smirked. "They're wasting their time. We destroyed him a while ago."

Sora widened his eyes. "You what?"

"Yep," Vanitas answered. "I did it myself."

The boy roughly grabbed his shoulders. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"If he doesn't, I'm sure we can inform him," a deep voice said. The three glanced up to see Ansem standing on the banister.

"Ansem the Wise," Aqua said.

* * *

The four sat quietly in Ansem's study, situated around his desk.

"What's so bad about destroying Xehanort?" Vanitas asked. "I know that was Terra's body, but big deal! We'll just get a new one."

Sora shook his head. "You don't understand. The Xehanort you fought was the fusion of his Heartless and Nobody. The Heartless wasn't just Xehanort's heart though. It was made of Terra's and Eraqus's too!

Aqua gazed in shock, tears forming in her eyes. Vanitas was perplexed as well. "So…I killed her friend and master?"

Sora groaned. "Apparently yes."

"Aqua…I…I didn't mean to, honestly," the youth assured her.

She nodded, swallowing her sorrow. "It's okay. I know you meant well. You were protecting me, and that's what matters."

Ansem stared at Sora. "Who else do you need to save, Sora?"

He held out his hand, counting off the names. "At this point, actually, the only person we can really save is Ven. The best chance is if he regains his heart."

"Do you know that Ven's heart is in you?" Ansem asked.

The boy nodded. "Yeah, it's been guiding me at times. But what I don't know is if reuniting his heart with his body will be enough to wake him."

"Master Yen Sid said that he would wake if his heart returned," Aqua added.

"Then we must do that at all costs," Ansem said.

Sora looked at the pair. "So, will you guys help me?"

Aqua nodded. "Definitely."

Vanitas stroked his chin. "I will, but when Ven wakes up, someone keep him from clawing my eyes out. I don't think he'll be thrilled to see me."

The other teens laughed. Suddenly, Ansem grabbed Sora's shoulder.

"Sora, you may not have realized this, but while you slept your long sleep, I hid my greatest research data within you," he explained. "With this data, your heart will be capable of incredible things, perhaps even finding a way to Kingdom Hearts."

"What is this data?" Sora asked.

"Normally splitting one's heart is impossible," Ansem explained. "With this information, however, you will be able to successfully defuse Ven's heart without harming it."

Sora smiled. "Thanks Ansem."

The three headed out of the room, intent on fulfilling their new task. The monarch stayed behind, silently reading the books in his study.


	13. Chapter 13: Choices

**Forbidden Love**

**Chapter 13: Choices**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the rights to the Kingdom Hearts franchise**

_AN: I had trouble figuring out what to do with this story. And then I realized it. Sending Aqua and Vanitas on a journey would be nice, but it doesn't FIT what this story is about. This story is just about their relationship. Sure I throw in hints of how I think KH3 might turn out, but that's not the focus._

_So with that I give you this…the FINAL chapter, just to wrap up a few details I had wanted to address for a while._

Sora shivered as he stepped out of the dark corridor. Having used it before, Aqua and Vanitas exited with barely any regard to the change in temperature. Vanitas lifted his head in shock. Long ago, when Xehanort elaborated on how Aqua's homeworld would be completely transformed, he hadn't expected anything like this. The dreary and oddly geometric castle before him looked nothing like the one he had visited years ago.

Aqua calmly approached the castle. Noticing that Sora was about to grab the door handle, she pulled him back.

"No need for that," she assured him. "I have my own way of entering."

Summoning the familiar black Keyblade of her master, Aqua shot a luminous beam at the door. The light outlined the doorframe, and Sora realized she had changed the structure inside somehow.

"This way," she said.

The boys followed her, finding themselves in a long and elegant hallway. Ignoring the slam of the doors behind her, Aqua continued to press forward, determined to see her old friend again. She silently wondered what condition he would be in. Would he be older? Would he have facial hair? Could he possibly be AWAKE even without his heart? If that were the case, Aqua would feel awful for trapping him inside.

Her train of thought came to a halt as Aqua noticed the elegant door in front of her. The familiar symbol of her master was patterned across the door, and the center had two handles shaped like keys.

"Wow, that's quite a design," Sora remarked.

Vanitas continued to stare at it. "So this is where you took Ven?"

She nodded. "Yes. After the battle at the graveyard, I took on the responsibility for watching over Ven. His heart wanted me to bring him here, so I happily complied."

Vanitas glanced toward her, noticing the determination in her eyes. The boy realized then that Aqua would not rest until her friend was alright. Yet deep down, Vanitas feared that nothing would awaken Ven. Feeling helpless, however, he understood all he could do was hope for the best.

The woman opened the door, her eyes now fixated on the backside of Ven's throne. She walked to the other side, and smiled at what she saw.

The boy hadn't changed a bit. Just like the Realm of Darkness, Castle Oblivion seemed to halt time completely. Ven remained in the same position, and even had the same innocent smirk on his face.

"It's as if time hasn't passed at all," the woman stated.

Sora stared in shock. "He looks JUST like Roxas!"

Aqua glanced at him. "Who?"

The boy shook his head. "Never mind. I'll explain later."

Summoning the Kingdom Key, Sora held it towards his chest. He glanced at Aqua for a moment.

"I'm actually new to this," he admitted. "Do I stab myself or shoot myself?"

Thinking of countless jokes he could make at the moment, Vanitas bit his tongue. He was still amazed to see his brighter half sitting beside him.

"Just press the blade against your chest," Aqua said. "If Ansem spoke the truth, both your heart and Ven's heart should emerge."

Obeying her command, Sora stabbed his own chest. His vision began to dim as two bright orbs emerged from his chest. One orb flew into Ven's body, while Aqua pushed Sora forward so that the other sphere would reunite with him. The trio closed their eyes as a blinding flash of light engulfed the room.

As the brightness faded away, Aqua slowly opened her eyes. The girl stared at Ven, waiting for him to move. Confused, she shook his body a bit.

"Ven?" she called out.

The boy still made no response. "Ven? Ven! VENTUS!"

Curious if the transfer had worked, Aqua rested her head against his chest. Perplexed that he had a heartbeat, Aqua backed away slightly.

"This doesn't make any sense," she said.

"Maybe he just needs a little time," Sora suggested.

"I doubt that's it," Vanitas stated.

Aqua turned to him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Because the body needs the heart it's used to," Vanitas replied.

Sora furrowed his brow a bit. "Yeah, I know. That's why I gave him his heart back!"

"But he needs more than that to stay awake," the boy explained. "The X-Blade explosion incredibly damaged Ven's heart, pushing it to the point where mere connections weren't enough to support it. That's why his heart fully joined with yours in the first place, Sora."

The boy scratched his head. "So how can we wake him up?"

Vanitas crossed his arms. "There's a few ways.

"Another method would be if you sent your heart into his body…" Vanitas began.

Sora widened his eyes in shock. "Ven seems like a great guy, but I don't want to fall asleep instead."

The woman frowned. "No, you shouldn't have to. There must be another way. We could just wait for his heart to heal on its own."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "And how long would that take? A few weeks? Years? Decades?"

"I don't know," Aqua admitted as she lowered her eyes in thought. "But we don't have any other choice."

As something clicked in his head, the dark warrior stared at her. "Yes we do."

The other two turned to him as he sighed a bit. "I can rejoin with him."

Aqua stared in shock. "What?"

"I've never actually had a true BODY of my own, Aqua," the boy stated. "I was born as the darkness extracted from Ven's heart. And even now, I'm merely a sentiment of my former self that was left behind after the battle for the X-Blade."

"But if you combine with Ven, would you be in control?" she asked.

"I might influence him to an extent, but other than that, no," he answered.

Aqua gazed in shock, horrified by the possibility. "No! I won't let that happen!"

Vanitas widened his eyes. "What?"

"Ven has been my friend for years," Aqua said. "I want to see him wake up. But not like this… not if it means losing you."

He held out his hands. "You wouldn't be losing me. I'd just be a part of Ven."

She frowned. "But-"

Before Aqua could finish, a huge explosion resounded from outside the doorway. The trio turned to see smoke covering a figure in the hallway. Rushing outside, they realized it was a strange suit of armor. Standing up, Aqua realized that it had a design similar to a samurai's suit. Besides that, Aqua noticed her master's symbol embezzled on its forehead.

"What is that?" Sora asked in confusion.

Upon recognizing the abdominal plate, Aqua gasped in shock. "My master's armor! He must have designed this as some sort of safeguard in case I had to transform our world!"

The figure stood up, holding out its hand as if it intended to equip something. Aqua felt her Keyblade vanish and reappear in the gauntlet of its true master. The girl held out her hand, trying to summon it back. Sadly, it seemed that since the blade had found its owner, or at least part of him, it refused to return to her.

Vanitas glared as the creature raised its Keyblade toward him. "Doesn't this guy know stealing is wrong?"

Sora stepped beside his dark doppelganger. "I guess not. At least we'll be on the same side this time."

Aqua ran in front of the suit. "Master, it's me! Aqua! Please don't fight my friends! They're here to help Ven!"

Although the sentiment could hear her, it barely registered any words. In fact, the being could not even SEE. All it could do was feel, and at this moment, it felt a huge dark aura coming from Vanitas, which classified him as an enemy. As it stepped to the left, Aqua did too. When it moved right, the female mirrored the actin again. Realizing Aqua refused to move, Eraqus's armor smacked her aside effortlessly to reach Vanitas.

"Aqua!" Vanitas exclaimed in horror.

The girl got to her knees, realizing how helpless she was without the Keyblade. In fact, without her Keyblade, she didn't even have a conduit to perform magic with. Understanding how vain her presence was, the woman rushed behind Ven as Sora and Vanitas as the two took their stances.

The armor continued to glare at them as it slowly shifted back and forth. Finally, the figure aimed its weapon toward them, launching a glowing set of yellow chains towards them. Vanitas cartwheeled to safety while Sora dodged away from it. Just as the dark haired boy landed on his feet, the metallic outfit swung its Keyblade toward him. Vanitas blocked the attack, barely holding his own against the creature as it pressed the blade forward. Suddenly, the armor felt something slash it across the back. Again and again the pain seared through its torso as each strike seemed to get stronger. Shifting its head slightly, Eraqus's sentiment realized that Sora was ruthlessly attacking him. The boy continued rapidly slashing Fenrir and the Ultima Weapon against him. The youth threw all his energy into a final strike, slamming the armor against the wall.

Surprisingly, the suit didn't even collapse. It simply landed on its feet, quickly turning to face its new target. Digging its heels into the ground, the armor began to surround itself with an amber aura. As the flame died out, the armor dashed towards Sora, unleashing an incredibly fast combo on him. The Keyblade Master was barely able to block each strike. Suddenly, each slash emitted a green sphere of energy, and the orbs began circling Sora. Seeing the balls flying towards him out of the corner of his eye, the boy dived to the ground. The energy bursts missed, and instead destroyed part of the wall.

"Let's take this outside!" Sora said to Vanitas.

The boy nodded in agreement, and they both rushed through the hole in the wall. Eraqus's armor followed them, finding itself on a vast floor filled with white tiles. Ignoring the infinite white space, the sentiment faced its opponents, quickly taking a new fighting stance. As a familiar aura illuminated the figure, five shards suddenly emerged from it. The armor leapt into the air, releasing the shards. As they hit the ground, the crystals turned into huge fiery pillars that sped toward Sora and Vanitas. Shocked at the intensity of the attack, the boys ran away from it, hoping it was slower than it seemed. No matter how fast they dashed, however, the infernos continued to catch up to them. Just as the flames were about to tap the dark boy's skirt, Sora aimed his blade at them.

"Freeze!" he shouted.

The boy unleashed a huge glacier of ice, which absorbed the embers as it melted into steam. As soon as relief began overtaking Vanitas, it soon vanished. Both he and Sora realized that the armor had entered the same pose again. This time, eight spikes of energy circled the entity. The spears flew into the air, naturally aimed for the two Keyblade heroes. Tired of running, the two held their ground and took defensive positions.

Sora held his hand into the air. "Reflect!"

At that moment, a Reflega shield covered Vanitas and him. The spears sharply impacted the barrier, slowly cracking it. Finally, the last spear broke through, searing into Vanitas's shoulder.

"AGHH!" the boy gasped in pain.

Sora held up his Keyblade. "Hea-"

Yet before he could even finish saying the word, a string of golden chains had snaked around his body, trapping him. As Vanitas quickly cast Curaga on himself, he noticed the chains send a surge of light and electricity into his ally. The boy fell limp against the ground.

"Sora!" the boy called out. "Can you stand?"

Struggling to his feet, Sora nodded in response. "I'm fine. That attack just took a lot out of me…"

Eraqus's sentiment continued its assault, now summoning a glowing circle behind itself. Nervously awaiting its new attack, Sora and Vanitas saw a group of orbs surround the figure. Beams of light instantly emerged from the spheres, though luckily the duo safely stood between two of the lasers. Noticing that the spheres were beginning to rotate, Sora grabbed Vanitas and high jumped into the air. Glancing down, he saw that the lasers were beginning to angle upwards. The boy began gliding while holding on to the dark youth, trying to avoid the attack. Suddenly, a beam of light struck the pair, sending them plummeting toward the floor. Before impact, Vanitas grabbed hold of Sora, taking him into the ground as they morphed into a circle of darkness.

The armor watched the circle rush towards it, and was surprised to see the two boys emerge from it. As they jumped out, a flurry of fireballs engulfed the figure, scorching and scarring its metallic plating.

Smiling, Vanitas covered himself in a pure black orb. "What's yours is mine!"

As he said this, a shadow copy jumped out at the armor. Eraqus's sentiment disarmed it with a blast of light, and charged towards Vanitas with its Keyblade aimed to kill. The entity began slashing away at the shield as Vanitas's clones continued to emerge, yet the doppelgangers were useless since the armor's attacks were arc motions filled with light. The light began eating away at the darkness, and finally, the barrier shattered. Vanitas fell against the floor, looking up in horror to see his enemy standing above him. The armor brought down its Keyblade, intending to wipe the dark being away from existence.

Before it could even strike, an unknown force sent the armor soaring against the ground. Sora slowly approached, trying to maintain the Graviga spell.

"Give him everything you have!" the boy called out.

Vanitas nodded in compliance, jumping into the air. Three circles began to spin in front of his void gear, and the boy aimed his weapon at the metallic suit. Unleashing all the darkness he could muster in a single shot, Vanitas watched with glee as a ray of blue energy accelerated towards Eraqus's sentiment. The blast hit directly, slowly decaying the armor. Panting from the energy of the blast, the boy crouched against the ground. Suddenly, he noticed something strange. The armored sentiment had quickly recovered from every other attack he and Sora had dished out. But this time… the suit remained still, as if…

"We did it!" Sora shouted.

Vanitas couldn't help but smirk. "I guess so."

The grin on both their faces evaporated as the armored helmet tilted towards them. Not even staggering, the metallic suit got to its feet.

"This is ridiculous!" Sora screamed.

Targeting the loudmouth, Eraqus's sentiment created the familiar set of golden chains. This time, however, they latched far apart on the floor. Sora stared in shock as the armor literally ripped a huge chunk of the floor into the air. Shaking with energy and perhaps even rage, the figure launched the boulder with a fiery aura towards the boy. Realizing no spell could block an object of such size, the boy tried to glide away to safety. Moments after his feet left the ground, however, the tiled boulder slammed into the floor, sending a ripple that struck Sora and brought him down.

Vanitas rushed to his side, casting Curaga on him. As he looked at the lookalike's face, the dark warrior realized he was almost petrified.

"He's insane!" Sora yelled. "There's no way we can stop this guy."

Thinking of something, Vanitas glanced toward the ground. "Maybe not US…"

Sora turned to him. "Vanitas?"

The shadow youth sprinted away. Upon entering the hallway, he aimed his Keyblade at Aqua, causing the girl to stare in shock.

"Stop!" he commanded.

Upon saying so, a powerful Stopga spell was cast, binding Aqua and all her senses in that single moment in time. Vanitas rushed past her, and took a deep breath as he reentered the Chamber of Waking.

* * *

Sora traded blow for blow against Eraqus's sentiment, yet it seemed like his attacks still weren't hurting it. The armor looked like trash from the damage it had sustained, yet it still refused to give up. The two locked blades once more, this time pressing against one another in a deadlock. Just as he thought he had lost for good, Sora suddenly saw an unfamiliar white Keyblade smash into the armor. The elegant blade returned to its owner, finishing the strike raid.

The boy turned his head in shock at the sight of the weapon's master. "You're awake!"

Fully immersed in armor without the helmet, Ven stepped forward with a triumphant smile. "And I'm ready to end this. I'm not about to let this cheap imitation hurt you!"

Ven turned to the armor, calmly exhaling. Suddenly, he thrust his weapon into the air, summoning pillars of light that raced towards the figure. Eraqus's lingering spirit launched his chains at the cylinders in an attempt to form a shield, yet the obelisks broke through and knocked him back. Staggering a bit, the armor stood its ground and began to glow green. Extending its arms, the figure began to float into the air as bright arcs began circling it. The sentiment aimed its Keyblade at the ground and released a new set of chains. This time, however, the once amber objects were now green as well. Ven glanced to see the strings of energy surround him, and suddenly, everything began to grow blurry.

The blur grew stronger, and suddenly, Ven saw a huge vortex form underneath the armor of his master. He ran from the whirlwind, glancing over his back to see that it was chasing him. As it passed over the floor, countless tiles flew into the air and began rotating with it. The boy aimed his Keyblade, sending a continuous wave of Aeroga at the typhoon. The twister began to slow until it came to a full stop. The broken pieces of marble fell to the ground and became motionless once more.

Ven turned to the armor, charging his Keyblade. "Darkness can stain and scar…"

The boy smirked as he lifted his head. "But only light can ERASE!"

From the tip of Lost Memory launched a huge beam of light, its aura growing larger as it sped towards Eraqus. The sentiment summoned a dome of golden chains around itself, hoping it would survive the onslaught. Surprisingly, the barrier held its own, not even vibrating from the impact of the attack. Frustrated, Ven poured out all the energy he could into the blast, amplifying its strength tenfold. The beam turned into a huge pillar, and the dome shattered instantly. Eraqus's armor stared in horror as the light overtook him, slowly eating away at its metallic frame.

Unable to scream, the figure slowly evaporated in the blindingly white light. When the brightness faded away, Sora was shocked to see only a pile of ashes in place of where the opponent once stood.

Aqua rushed into the arena, and was surprised to see that the guardian was gone. What truly shocked her was the sight of her once dormant friend.

"Ven?" she cried out.

He turned to her, his eyes lit with joy. "Aqua!"

The two friends rushed towards each other, embracing in a long-awaited hug. Aqua stepped back, happily smiling at him.

"This is unbelievable, how did you-" she began.

Suddenly, she mentally connected the dots. "Vanitas joined with you… didn't he?"

Ven frowned. "Yeah. I mean I didn't see him do anything, but it's like I just KNOW that somehow, like how I knew that armored suit was a threat and wasn't actually our master."

"Vanitas's knowledge must have become part of yours when you fused," Sora suggested.

Aqua felt the tears build up, confusing Ven.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Ven… I'm so happy that you're back… but I miss Vanitas," she replied.

The boy raised his eyebrow. "Really? I never thought ANYONE would miss him!"

"He's changed," Aqua explained. "In fact he was so different that… we fell in love."

The blonde gaped in shock. "WHAT?"

Ignoring the tears rolling down her face, the woman nodded. "Yes… but now…"

Unable to control herself any more, Aqua felt her sorrow consume her as she began to cry.

Never again would she see Vanitas's face.

Never again would she hear his joyful laugh.

Never again would she hear his voice.

Ven pitifully looked as his friend began to cry. While the girl kept to herself, Sora moved beside him.

"It's sad really," the boy remarked. "In the end, there can be only you or only Vanitas."

The blonde silently nodded, thinking of something as he turned to Sora. "Take out your Keyblade. I'll be right back."

Taking a few steps away, Ven kneeled besides his old friend. "Aqua?"

She turned to him. "Sorry, Ven. It's just difficult to digest this."

"Listen," he started. "I think it's for the best if I bring Vanitas back."

She stared in horror. "What?"

"I don't think I have a choice!" he said. "I've NEVER seen you this upset! And I don't want you to be sad all the time."

"But if Vanitas is recreated, your heart might be even MORE damaged!" she pointed out.

The youth shrugged. "So what? Either way I KNOW my heart will fully recover soon. I can feel it, Aqua. The light is so close to being stable on its own."

The woman stared at the floor as she processed her thoughts. Part of her felt she should snap Ven out of it and convince him to stay. The two had been friends for years, and they now had a chance to make even more memories together. Besides, there were other people like Vanitas out there…

What a lie. Aqua KNEW her love was unique. And without him, the girl truly felt empty and alone. Beyond that, Vanitas had filled a gap that friendship never could. To that end, she desperately wanted him back.

The woman sighed, smiling sadly. "Thank you, Ven."

He smiled, standing in front of Sora as the Keyblade Master raised Oathkeeper.

"I'll wait for you," Aqua assured him. "Forever if I have to."

Ven smirked. "I know you will."

A beam of light shot into Ven, his eyes widening as a dark sphere emerged from his body. The orb began to take form, and the familiar figure of Vanitas landed on the ground.

"Vanitas!" Aqua cried out.

The girl rushed forward, practically knocking him over as she wrapped her arms around him. Relief immediately engulfed her mood, completely dissipating any depressing feelings.

"Ugh… I feel wiped out," he muttered.

She smiled at him. "Then let's head home and rest."

* * *

In their bedroom, Aqua and Vanitas faced Sora as he summoned the Kingdom Key.

"So you're heading off?" Vanitas asked.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. My mission's over now. I saved everyone I could."

Vanitas smirked. "Well it's probably better this way. I would HATE to own you in a battle again."

Sora glared at him. "Own me? I wiped the floor with you!"

The dark warrior chuckled. "Then prove it."

Sora shook his head. "I don't have time for this. Besides… I have my own girl waiting for me back home."

Waving goodbye to then, Sora summoned a portal of light, immediately vanishing into its depths.

Vanitas lied back on the bed. "Well, I guess that's it."

Aqua crossed her arms. "So what should we do now? Terra's gone, Ven's asleep… and you're here."

The boy squinted for a bit. "I think we should stay."

He noticed the confusion in her eyes.

"You know, here in Radiant Garden," he finished.

"You think so?" she inquired.

"Sure," he replied. "Seems like a good place to raise kids."

She burst out laughing. "Okay, we're still teenagers technically. I am NOT having a baby!"

"But being a teen mom is the latest trend!" he said.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "No way! And I use the term teenager loosely for me. I'm 18 years old."

He growled. "Oh, cougar."

The woman started laughing hysterically. Somehow he knew just how to make her laugh. The boy soon joined in and lied next to her on their bed.

"You know what I realized?" she said.

"What?" he asked.

"Because of everything that happened in the last 10 years, you're the only thing I have left of my old life," she began.

Her eyes glistened slightly. "But at the same time… if I had to choose between everyone I lost and you… I'd still pick you."

The boy grinned, holding her closely. "I'd definitely pick you over grandpa Xehy any day."

She chuckled, and the two slowly leaned towards each other, quickly kissing.

* * *

Darkness is incomplete without light.

Passion is meaningless without kindness.

Yet true love isn't about choosing one part of the spectrum over the other.

It's about finding the right balance in between.


End file.
